Workers under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have resumed duties after Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, and organised labour unions reached an agreement late Monday night to suspend the ongoing strike.
After more than three hours of tense negotiations that stretched into the early hours of Tuesday, the FCT Minister and labour leaders reached what sources described as a “midnight truce” at about 3:50 a.m., bringing the industrial action to an immediate halt.
The talks, led by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the FCT, Senator Mohammed Bomoi, were attended by leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Comrade Benson Upah, and TUC General Secretary, Dr Nuhu Toro, said several resolutions were reached to restore industrial peace. Upah said the agreements included assurances that no worker would be victimised for participating in the strike, the immediate withdrawal of all cases instituted at the National Industrial Court, and a commitment by the FCT Minister to maintain mutual respect and sustained dialogue with organised labour.
“All complaints presented by members of the Joint Unions Action Committee were taken one after the other and fully addressed,” Upah added, noting that the Minister assured continuous engagement going forward. Consequently, workers under the Joint Unions Action Committee (JUAC), as well as affiliates of the NLC and TUC within the FCTA, were directed to return to work immediately.
“All JUAC members and all affiliates of the TUC and NLC working in the Ministry of the FCT are hereby directed to resume work immediately,” Upah said. “All affiliates are enjoined to comply strictly with this directive in the interest of industrial peace and harmony and in good faith.”
The strike stemmed from unresolved labour issues within the FCT Administration, leading to industrial action and threats of mass protests, despite security warnings from the FCT Police Command and a court order restraining the strike. The industrial action had disrupted activities in the nation’s capital for several days before the Senate Committee’s intervention helped broker the resolution.