Labour calls off strike in Abia over unpaid workers

The organized labour in Abia on saturday has called off its strike indefinitely, to carry out an industrial action over state government’s failure to clear the arrears of workers’ salaries and pensions.

News Agency of Nigeria reports that the leadership of the organised labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and Joint Negotiating Council, JNC, had on August 8, issued a seven-day ultimatum to the state government to address the problem of unpaid arrears of workers’ salaries and pensions in the state.

The organized labour also threatened to embark on a warning strike at the expiration of the ultimatum on Friday.

To this effect, the state government has set up a seven-member committee, with the Head of Service, Mr Onyii Wamah, “to articulate and come out with modalities on how to clear the outstanding arrears.”

But, the Chairman of NLC, Uchenna Obigwe, chairman of TUC, Chris Okoro, and chairman of  JNC, Sunny Onwuma, jointly signed the statement to postpone the warning strike, issuing it to the newsmen.

The  statement which read, “that the organised labour in Abia met with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in respect of the ultimatum,is contrary to the unsubstantiated rumour and the Abia government affirmed that it had not received any new tranche of the Paris Club refund.

In an interview with newsmen, NLC Chairman, Obigwe said that labour would rather allow the committee to complete its work, adding that the implementation of the anticipated report would guide labour on what next to do.

The statement further said“that the handling of the outcome of the report of the committee will determine labour’s next line of action.”