The Nigeria Labour Congress and its affiliates have suspended the three-day warning strike it planned to commence today (Thursday) in Kano over the deduction of workers salary for the month of March by the state government.
The Deputy National President, NLC, Najeem Yasin announced the suspension of the strike on Wednesday night at a joint news conference with other labour movement and affiliates in Kano after a meeting with the State government team led by the Head of Civil Service, Hajia Binta Lawan Ahmed.
“The planned 3-day industrial action planned to commence on Thursday, 8th April 2021 and peaceful protests on Monday, 12 April 2021 are hereby suspended by the organized labour,” said Yasin.
He said during the meeting, the state government denied a rumour that it planned to revert to the N18, 000 minimum wage.
“Rather it affirmed determination to respect the agreement of N30, 600 signed between the state government and organized labour in December 2019,” explained Yasin.
The NLC had last week given a seven-day ultimatum to the state government to refund and stop what it described as “illegal deduction” from civil servant salaries or face industrial action.
However, the Kano state Government had in statement explained that the salary shortfalls for both Civil Servants and Political office holders in the state, for only the month of March, were due to dwindling Federal allocation to the state.
Comrade Yasin said other resolutions reached at the meeting includes:
” March 2021 workers’ salaries deducted at State and Local government Councils be refunded to workers along with April or May salaries depending on the increase of FAAC allocation for the period.’’
“All machinery for the implementation of the new national minimum wage of N30, 600.00 should be put in place by the Office of the Head of Civil Service for Kano University of Science and Technology Wudil and Yusuf Maitama Sule Universities immediately.”
“A committee was set up between Government and organized labour to look into all contentious issues as presented by labour.”
“Also, the payment of monthly pension and all entitlements of retirees should be vested under the resolutions and approval of the Board of Trustees of the Kano State Pension Fund Trust as provided by 2006 pension law,” said Yasin.
Yasin noted that it was agreed that no worker or any labour leader should be punished or treated in a prejudicial or malicious manner as a result of partaking in the planned industrial action by the Kano State Government.
Dominica Nwabufo
