Labour strike: There is total compliance – NLC

Shuts down Lagos state secretariat, chase bank workers out of office

 

Civil Servants working at the Lagos state Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja could not gain access into their offices on Thursday as the in and out gates to the secretariat were shut and blocked by officials of Labour Unions  that commenced a 7-day warning strike over the government’s foot-dragging on a new minimum wage for workers.

The Labour unions who were said to have arrived the premises as early as 5a.m. on Thursday morning blocked the in and out entrances of the secretariat stopping workers who came for the day’s work from gaining entrance into the premises.

The action is to enforce compliance on the strike called by the trade unions on the unresolved issue of minimum wage for workers.

Parked conspicuously in front of both gates were branded vehicles of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC and other affiliate unions to NLC and TUC with Labour officials and civil servants who had reported for the day’s job on standby. There was no going in or coming out of the premises.

Speaking with reporters, the Lagos state chairman of NLC, Comrade Idowu Adelakun said the strike is long overdue, adding that “everybody is prepared for the strike.”

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He further disclosed that they will not leave the premises until around 2pm. and that they will register their presence in the premises for the seven days duration of the warning strike to ensure that no destruction of property and compliance.

Asked if their presence at the secretariat was to enforce compliance, Adelakun said, it is to ensure that some bad people don’t take advantage of the strike to go inside the premises and start spoiling government property.

“When we call strike like this and we are not here some people may decide to go inside and start spoiling government property and as leaders we are responsible enough.

“All this properties are our properties, if people destroy them today they are still going to use tax payers money to rebuild them, so that is why we are here as leaders to make sure that the protest is peaceful and make sure no way for people to do otherwise.”

Justifying the strike Adelakun said, “The Federal Government set up a committee on minimum wage in 2017, even Minister of Labour promised that by September they would start paying and September is gone, the tripartite committee has not been able to come up with any report, if we don’t fight now when are we going to fight? He queried.

He disclosed that the Labour officials have monitored the banks and sent workers out from their offices, Coca Cola and many companies around Alausa were not allowed to open for business.

“We only have skeletal services in hospitals because of the nature of their work, there is a total compliance”, Adelakun said.

Describing the minimum wage of N18,000 as slave wage, he said the constitution stipulates a review of minimum wage every five years and the review is long overdue. “N18,000 minimum wage cannot take you anywhere in today Nigeria”, he said.