The Abia state Nigeria Labour Congress Branch said it had finalized plans to launch an indefinite strike on Tuesday over unpaid salaries and pensions for Abia Workers by the outgoing government of Okezie Ikpeazu. On Monday, Abia State NLC Chairman Pascal Nweke told journalists, “By midnight, Abia workers will begin an indefinite strike over unpaid salaries and pensions.”
Iheme said that although the NLC met with the state government and signed an agreement, “after that, nothing was done. We later wrote them again”. He added:
“They invited me and our Secretary and explained that they had problems with their banks. So we gave them time to solve their bank problems, but nothing happened.
“Last week, to our surprise, the state government embarked on discriminatory salary payment by paying the local government staff their March salaries, whereas others are owed more than 36 months’ salaries”.
The NLC chairman, in his speech during the 2023 Workers’ Day celebration in Umuahia, said the state government owed senior secondary schoolteachers 28 months’ salary, among others. Iheme said:
“We will wait to see what they will do before passing the bulk of the debt to the next administration in the state. Then, by midnight, the indefinite strike will begin.”
He called on workers to prepare for the strike “until we achieve our aim.”
However, the Head of Service, Onyii Wamah, called for dialogue.
Efforts to reach the Secretary to the State Government, Chris Ezem, proved abortive as calls to his mobile line did not go through.
cc: Punch Ng
