The Nigeria Labour Congress and Nigeria Union of Teachers in the Federal Capital Territory have rejected Nyesom Wike’s no-work-no-pay directive and urged striking workers not to return to work out of fear of losing their salaries.
NLC FCT chairman Knabayi Adalo and NUT FCT secretary Margaret Jethro set out their positions in separate circulars issued to members on Sunday. They described the directive as unconstitutional and unenforceable.
The circulars were made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday. Their legal arguments are the unions’ position, not a court ruling on the current dispute.
Wike had directed the six area council chairmen on Friday to apply the policy to workers participating in the strike. He also ordered daily attendance registers for monitoring absentees. NaijaTrend reported the directive and the split among FCT unions here.
The NLC declared the indefinite strike on October 7 over unresolved disputes involving teachers’ promotions and career progression. Adalo said the grievances included a vacancy clause restricting promotions and the demotion of directors covered by the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
Adalo argued that Section 40 of the Constitution, the Trade Unions Act and international labour conventions protected the action. He also maintained that the no-work-no-pay provision in Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act applied only to illegal strikes, and that the FCT council had fulfilled the legal requirements for its action.
He told members not to sign attendance registers opened during the strike and to report threats, queries or harassment to the NLC FCT secretariat with evidence. He warned that school heads who compelled teachers to sign or submitted names for punitive action could face union picketing.
The NLC chairman demanded removal of the vacancy clause, the conduct of the 2025 promotion exercise and the reinstatement of demoted directors.
Jethro likewise urged teachers to remain on strike and not sign attendance registers. She said their demands concerned welfare, not political power, and asked members to remain peaceful and law-abiding while at home.
Sources: Premium Times, Vanguard
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