NLC mobilises unions, CSOs over FCTA workers strike, orders total shutdown

 

 

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has mobilised its affiliate unions and civil society groups in support of striking workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), ordering a total shutdown of activities across the FCT over unpaid entitlements and alleged rights violations.

In a statement signed by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the NLC declared strong solidarity with workers under the Joint Unions Action Congress (JUAC), describing the ongoing total and indefinite strike as justified and necessary in the face of what it called sustained attacks on workers’ rights by the FCTA leadership.

The labour centre said its decision followed a petition and consultations with JUAC leaders, which it claimed exposed a deliberate and systematic assault on workers in the nation’s capital, requiring coordinated and decisive action.

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“Congress (NLC), stands in very strong solidarity with the workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) under the aegis of the Joint Unions Action Congress (JUAC).

“Their ongoing total and indefinite strike action is not merely justified; it is a necessary and heroic response to a vicious cocktail of neoliberal attacks, gross administrative impunity, and a systematic violation of the fundamental rights of workers by the FCTA management and its political leadership.

“After the petition and consequent consultation with the leaders of JUAC, in which the unfortunate deliberate and calculated assault on the working class within the nation’s capital was laid bare, the need for concerted action became obvious.” He said

According to the NLC, the FCTA has engaged in what it described as wage abuse through the illegal withholding of five months’ wage award and promotion arrears, an action it said amounts to a direct denial of workers’ legitimate earnings and a violation of constitutional guarantees.

The congress also accused the FCTA of failing to remit pension contributions and National Housing Fund deductions since May 2025, warning that the lapse threatens the future of both serving and retired workers by exposing them to economic hardship.

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It further condemned alleged intimidation of staff, including restrictions on phone usage and reported incarceration of workers, describing such actions as unacceptable and contrary to constitutional rights and international labour standards.

“The case of Wage abuse was well established. The illegal withholding of five months’ Wage Award and promotion arrears is not an administrative lapse but a brazen denial of workers’ legitimate earnings, a direct attack on their livelihoods and a violation of the constitutional guarantee of remuneration.

“The non-remittance of pension contributions since May 2025 and National Housing Fund deductions is an act of economic sabotage against both active and retired workers, condemning them to a destitute old age.

“This is capital accumulation by dispossession, plain and simple. It is unacceptable.” The Congresss said

In response, the NLC directed all its affiliate unions in the FCT to fully align with and intensify the ongoing industrial action, declaring the dispute a collective struggle of all workers in the territory.

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The labour centre also ordered workers to mobilise en masse to the National Industrial Court on Monday, January 26, 2026, where matters related to the dispute are scheduled to be heard, as a show of unity and resolve.

“The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) therefore declares and directs: A total escalation of the Industrial action. All affiliate unions within the Federal Capital Territory are hereby directed to fully align with and intensify the ongoing industrial action. This struggle is now the struggle of every worker in the FCT.

“All workers to mobilize to the Court on Monday, the 26th of January, 2026. In pursuit of justice and to demonstrate our collective resolve, all workers in the Federal Capital Territory are directed to converge en-masse at the National Industrial Court on Monday, the 26th of January 2026, where matters pertaining to this struggle will be heard.” Ajaero said

In addition, workers were directed to commence daily prayer and solidarity sessions from 8:00am to 5:00pm at designated venues across the FCT, which the NLC said would serve as moral and spiritual support for the struggle.

The congress further mandated trade unions in the FCT to immediately form alliances with civil society organisations, student groups, community activists and other stakeholders to broaden support for the action.

Warning the FCTA management and political leadership, the NLC said the patience of workers had been exhausted, stressing that the demands of the striking workers remain non-negotiable until resolved.

Reaffirming its commitment, the NLC told FCTA workers that their struggle represents the fight of workers nationwide, urging them to remain firm until their rights are restored and their demands met.