Offices locked as Kebbi workers begin strike

Kebbi State Civil Servants have complied with the directive of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to begin an indefinite strike action on Wednesday.

Our correspondents, who visited the State Secretariat and meet the office lock, observed that the workers were not at work due to the directive given by the state NLC over the failure of the state Government to meet up with their demands.

Speaking with our correspondents while monitoring the activities, the Kebbi State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Comrade Issa A. Umar commended the efforts of the NLC for the strike action.

He express dismay over the inability of the state government to compile with their request, saying “we are not going back until he fulfil our agreements.”

The leadership of the organising labour on Tuesday threatened to commence an indefinite strike action on Wednesday due to the state government failure to addressed its six among other demands which were tabled before it.

Chairman of labour’s publicity committee, Comrade Yunusa Musa Isma’il, said that the demands includes; payment of leave grants to civil servants on grade level 07 to 16 in 2019, payment of leave grants of the year 2020, remittance of teachers pension contributions to pension funds Adminstrators, PFA and payment of gratuity to pensioners from 2017 to october 2018 as well as to commence payment of new retirees from november 2018 to 2019.

Other demand were yearly promotions and increment and resumption of consequential committee on new national minimum wage.

Isma’il added that already, three strong committees has been set up to impose the total compliance as regards to the strike, they are; enforcement/action and publicity.

Similarly, Isma’il asked government to pay allowances to all health workers on covid-19 not only the front-liners, as everybody bears the risk.

Isma’il therefore appealed to all civil servants in the state to give their maximum co operations to the strike action.