The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) have rejected Minister Nyesom Wike’s threat to enforce the no-work, no-pay policy against workers participating in the ongoing strike.
The unions described the directive as illegal, unconstitutional, provocative and unenforceable, urging teachers and other affected workers not to be intimidated by threats of salary deductions or disciplinary action.
The NLC chairman in the FCT, Knabayi Adalo, and the NUT secretary, Margaret Jethro, communicated their positions in separate circulars to members on Sunday.
Wike had directed area council chairpersons to implement the no-work, no-pay policy against workers participating in the industrial action. He also instructed the FCT Head of Civil Service, school principals and headteachers to maintain daily attendance registers to monitor absent workers.
The directive followed an indefinite strike declared by the NLC on October 7 over unresolved disagreements between the FCT Administration and teachers.
Reacting, Adalo maintained that the strike was a legitimate labour action and insisted that the administration could not punish workers for participating in an industrial dispute arising from unresolved workplace grievances.
He argued that Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act, which provides for the no-work, no-pay principle, applied to illegal strikes and should not be used to penalise workers involved in lawful industrial action.
The labour leader attributed the dispute to several unresolved issues, including the FCT Administration’s requirement for vacancies before teachers could be promoted and the alleged demotion of directors covered by the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
He also urged teachers not to sign attendance registers reportedly being used to monitor participation in the strike, directing workers facing intimidation, queries or harassment to report to the NLC FCT Council Secretariat with evidence.
Adalo warned school administrators against forcing teachers to sign attendance registers or submitting their names for disciplinary action, adding that the union would hold those responsible accountable.
The NLC is demanding the removal of the vacancy requirement for teachers’ promotions, the conduct of the 2025 promotion exercise and the reinstatement of directors allegedly demoted despite being beneficiaries of the 2022 retirement age law.
Similarly, Jethro described Wike’s threat as an empty one and urged teachers to remain united and continue the strike until their demands were addressed.
She insisted that the dispute was about teachers’ welfare rather than political interests, dismissing suggestions that the industrial action was politically motivated.
The NUT secretary also criticised the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) for withdrawing from the strike, describing the move as a betrayal of the teachers’ collective interests.
She urged teachers to remain peaceful and law-abiding while the dispute continued.
The disagreement between organised labour and the FCT Administration has heightened tensions over teachers’ promotion policies and welfare, with the unions insisting that the government must resolve their grievances before the industrial action can be called off.
