NLC to ground Kaduna over sack of 36, 000 teachers

….Says El – rufai breached Court order

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, on Tuesday in Abuja, vowed to do everything possible to stop the inhuman act meted on the Kaduna stake workers affected on the illegal sack of over 36, 000 workers by the state Governor Mallam Nasir El-rufai.

President of the NLC Comrade Ayuba Waba, who made this known while addressing journalists also said this, will take place in Kaduna state on Thursday, to enforce the action of the international labour organization in fighting for the right of the workers under threat world- wide.

Waba said that the action has become necessary owing to the actions of the Governor, who defiled the agreement reached by it and the organized labour.

According to him, immediately after the New Year, and precisely on the 3rd of January, 2018, the elected Governor of Kaduna state, in obvious disregard and fragrant abuse of the existing court ruling and the legal process, issued letters of disengagement to thousands of teachers and back dated them to November 3rd, 2017 ostensibly to circumvent the court order.

This perfidy in his reasoning is not only irresponsible and unbecoming of a governor elected under the revered constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but a criminal act and an affront to the well cherished principle of law and natural justice.

“Our concerns and indeed those of well-meaning Nigerians include the illegal and unacceptable process employed by the Governor and their direct impact on thousands of dependants of 36,000 workers and their families thrown in one fell swoop into the unemployment market. More worrisome are the grievous and negative implications of this in a state grappling with social tensions and societal ills such as kidnappings, armed robberies, killings among others. We believe that the governor should have waited to implement the judgment of the industrial court as well as the negotiation and agreement reached by it and the organized labour before issuing and backdating the disengagement letters.

NLC president observed that the actions of the Governor El-Rufai are largely propelled by his obsession to access a loan and mortgage the lives and livelihood of thousands of workers and indeed the people of Kaduna state to the IMF and World Bank.

“We make bold to say that no sane and humane society will contemplate such inconsiderate policy as a mass sack, talk less of implementing it at a time everyone, particularly policy makers have made us believe that the country is barely out of recession. Seriously, minds in both the public and private sectors are focused on reflecting the economy, creating jobs and curbing all forms of social insecurity. Thus, we find the actions of El-rufai totally inhuman and economically illogical and not worth venturing into”.

It however, said that El-Rufai’s action is a clear violation and abuse of the tenets and provisions of and provisions of the Nigerian labour laws which is well known as international best practices and are capable of exacerbating social tensions and societal ills in the state.

Meanwhile, the NLC says it is also making arrangement to engage the Government of Kogi state on the sack of civil servants mostly who are at the peak of their careers without reasons.

The NLC said that the fact that Kogi state Government adduced no reason indicates that the sack was orchestrated on saving cost in Government expenditure.

According to him, “most of the sacked workers in Kogi state are at the peak of their career most of them at the Directorate level to climax their service but were sacked when the Governor reasoned that their stay will incur more expenditure.

Idu Jude Abuja