Industrial tension deepened in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday as workers under the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) defied a court order and continued their indefinite strike over unresolved welfare issues, effectively shutting public schools and health facilities across parts of Abuja.
The strike, which commenced on January 19, was triggered by what the unions described as the prolonged neglect of workers’ welfare, a situation they said had eroded morale and productivity within the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
Despite an injunction issued by the National Industrial Court in Abuja directing the unions to suspend the industrial action pending further hearing, workers remained absent from duty as of Wednesday. The court order followed a suit instituted by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, alongside the FCTA, seeking to halt the strike.
Justice Emmanuel Subilim, who granted the interim order on Tuesday, restrained the leadership of the striking unions from continuing the action. Court documents indicated that the suit listed Wike and the FCTA as claimants, while union leaders Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Umar Saleh were named as defendants.
However, checks across the Bwari Area Council revealed that essential services were still paralysed. Several public schools, including Government Day Secondary School, Dutse Alhaji, Junior Secondary School, Ushafa, and LEA Primary School, Ushafa, remained locked, with students sent home as early as 8 a.m. Healthcare facilities in the area were also largely shut.
An official at LEA Primary School, Ushafa, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said workers had not received any formal directive indicating that the strike had been suspended. He argued that the court order appeared to apply to union leaders rather than the general workforce.
“The order was directed at the union leaders. As far as we know, there is no memo instructing workers to resume,” the official said.
The industrial action has since drawn wider support, with the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) joining in solidarity earlier in the week.
At the heart of the dispute are demands for the payment of five months’ wage awards, outstanding promotion arrears for 2023 and 2024, full settlement of 13 months’ hazard allowance and 22 months’ rural allowance for health workers, as well as the remittance of pension and National Housing Fund deductions. The unions are also protesting alleged intimidation of workers and calling for improved welfare and working conditions.
Reacting to the continued shutdown, the FCT Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, insisted that the strike had effectively been suspended by those who initiated it.
According to him, “Those who declared the strike have resumed work. They were in their offices today. The strike was not declared by the NUT. If some workers have not resumed, it may be due to a communication gap. By tomorrow, they should be back at work.”
