Labour shuts down activities in Ebonyi

Government activities were shut down in Ebonyi State as workers in the state obeyed the industrial action by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

Our correspondent gathered that all government offices and agencies, both federal and state, were under lock, and workers were seen stranded following their inability to gain entrance into their various premises.

Ebonyi State judiciary, banks, state ministries at the Centenary City, and federal ministries at Unity Square, Abakaliki, were all locked.

Even schools that opened for learning and teaching activities earlier in the morning closed immediately upon receiving information that the strike had started.

Lawyers and bankers were seen stranded at the gate of the judiciary and banks located on WaterWorks Road, Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State.

It was gathered that the strike paralysed business activities in the state, especially those who traded inside the court premises.

Speaking to newsmen, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Prof. Egwu Og Isugua, said: “So far so good, our compliance with the strike is ninety per cent, the Ochi-Udo secretariat is scanty, the Ebonyi judiciary is under lock and key, the banks are not functioning. Banks didn’t open to customers.

“What our leaders at the national level are fighting for is the betterment of Nigerian workers, and they need our support. I am happy that Ebonyi workers have demonstrated it.

“It is obvious that our take-home pay is nothing to talk about. Imagine three little tomatoes costing N500, a cup of rice N400, and the government acts as if they are not buying from the same market.

“Imagine that a module of garri is N3,200, a bag of Abakaliki rice costs 75 thousand naira, even more than the N60 thousand being proposed by the federal government.

“Nobody has talked about the cost of cooking gas, power, transportation, and food condiments. Let the Government be realistic for once and propose what is reasonable.

“Also, look at the cost of governance in Nigeria. Does it look modest when so many billions are committed to irrelevancies, and the welfare of workers that drive production is always relegated to the background?”

A lawyer, who identified himself as Solomon and was stranded at the gate of the Ebonyi judiciary, said that the federal government should listen to the yearning of the Nigeria Labour Congress, adding that the issue of minimum wage should be the priority of any government that wants to succeed.

A customer at one of the banks said that Organized Labour is not happy with the way the government is handling the issue of minimum wage, noting that every worker deserves better pay.