The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council, and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Wing, have condemned FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s directive to enforce the no-work, no-pay policy against striking workers, describing it as unconstitutional, illegal and unenforceable.
The labour unions urged teachers and other affected workers to remain resolute, warning them not to be intimidated by threats of salary deductions or attendance monitoring.
The NLC FCT Council Chairman, Knabayi Adalo, and the NUT FCT Wing Secretary, Margaret Jethro, stated their positions in separate circulars issued to members on Sunday. The circulars were made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday, The News Edition reports.
Wike had directed area council chairmen to implement the no-work, no-pay policy against workers participating in the indefinite strike declared by the NLC on October 7 over unresolved disputes between the FCT Administration and the NUT.
The minister also instructed the FCT Head of Civil Service, school principals and headteachers to maintain daily attendance registers to identify workers who were absent from duty.
NLC Challenges Legality of Salary Withholding
Reacting to the directive, Adalo maintained that strike action remained a legitimate instrument for workers to pursue their demands under Nigerian law and international labour standards.
He cited Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, the Trade Unions Act and International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 87, 98 and 151, arguing that they protect workers’ rights to organise and engage in industrial action, subject to applicable legal requirements.
According to Adalo, the NLC FCT Council had fulfilled the necessary legal conditions for the strike.
He also challenged the proposed withholding of salaries, arguing that Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act applied to illegal strikes and should not be used to penalise workers participating in legitimate industrial action.
Adalo accused the FCT Administration of contributing to the dispute by allegedly violating teachers’ rights through the introduction of a vacancy clause affecting promotions.
He also cited the demotion of directors whom he described as beneficiaries of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022, as another unresolved grievance.
The NLC chairman referred to previous National Industrial Court of Nigeria judgments which, he said, supported workers’ entitlement to salaries in certain circumstances involving legitimate strikes.
He maintained that the administration should address the unions’ complaints rather than threaten workers with financial penalties.
Union Warns Against Attendance Registers
Adalo also reacted to reports that some school administrators were compelling teachers to sign attendance registers during the strike.
He directed union members not to sign the registers, arguing that their use during lawful industrial action could be intended to facilitate disciplinary measures against participating workers.
“Participation in a union-declared strike is lawful industrial action, not absenteeism,” he said.
The NLC chairman instructed workers who received queries or experienced threats and harassment to report to the council’s secretariat with supporting evidence.
He further warned that principals and headteachers who forced teachers to sign attendance registers or submitted lists for punitive action could face personal consequences, including union picketing.
Adalo called on the FCT Administration to address the dispute’s underlying issues, demanding the removal of the vacancy clause, the conduct of the 2025 promotion exercise and the full reinstatement of the demoted directors.
He assured workers that the union would continue to defend their interests and oppose victimisation.
NUT Urges Teachers to Remain on Strike
Jethro also rejected Wike’s directive, describing the no-work, no-pay threat as illegal and urging teachers not to return to work out of fear of losing their salaries.
“We must remain resolute. Do not chicken out; we must fight this battle together and now,” she said.
The NUT secretary urged teachers not to panic, submit to intimidation or sign attendance registers, insisting that the strike was intended to secure workers’ welfare and was not politically motivated.
She thanked teachers for participating in the industrial action but accused the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) of betraying their collective interests by withdrawing from the strike.
Jethro nevertheless urged teachers to remain peaceful and law-abiding while the industrial action continued.
The dispute highlights the continuing tension between the FCT Administration and organised labour over teachers’ promotion, employment conditions and other welfare-related demands.
The unions are insisting that the administration resolve the outstanding grievances, while the implementation of Wike’s directive remains a central point of contention.