The strike led by the Nigeria Labour Congress in the Federal Capital Territory has entered its 11th day, with negotiations between the labour unions and Area Council Chairmen at a standstill over the implementation timeline for the N70,000 minimum wage.
Speaking to our correspondent on Tuesday, the FCT Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, Abdullahi Kabir, revealed that the Area Council Chairmen proposed a January 2025 implementation date, which the unions rejected, demanding the new wage commence in December 2024.
“As I’m talking to you now, there is a discussion ongoing with the Area Council Chairmen. The Council Chairmen are appealing to the union that we should leave the issue of implementation till January. Meanwhile, the union is saying that the implementation should start in December. So that’s where we are. They are appealing that they will pay in January, and we are saying that they are going to pay in December,” Kabir said.
The unions argued that delaying implementation to January would increase arrears to five months, whereas starting in December would reduce it to four months.
“The basic issue is the chairmen are appealing that they want to implement in January. We are saying let them implement it in December. Because if they implement it in January, then the arrears will have been five months. But if they implement in December, the arrears will be four months.”
That is where we are,” Kabir explained.
He also highlighted other grievances, including the lack of peculiar allowances for local government workers compared to FCTA staff, discrepancies in pay, and delays in implementing the 25% CONHESS and CONMESS allowances and wage awards.
“It is not only the issue of minimum wage we are talking about in the FCT. There is the issue of peculiar allowances. The FCTA has gotten their own; we are going to the same market, we pay the same rent. A lot of things like that. There is 25% CONHESS and CONMESS. There is the wage award. All these allowances have not been given to local government workers,” Kabir said.
He further emphasised the unique status of the FCT, noting that the FCT Minister acts as a stand-in for President Bola Tinubu, who serves as the de facto Governor of the FCT.
“The FCT is different from other states. The FCT minister is standing in for President Bola Tinubu as the Governor of the FCT. President Bola Tinubu is the President of the FCT. So we are supposed to benefit from all these things,” he stated.
Kabir reaffirmed that the strike would continue until the NLC provided a counter-directive.
“The strike has not ended until the NLC calls us and says this is the MoU or the agreement. Then we will know how to sort ourselves,” he stated.
Efforts to reach the FCT Council Chairman of the NLC, Stephen Knabayi, for comments were unsuccessful as he did not respond to phone calls or messages as of the time of filing this report.
