BY AHMED TUKUR, LAFIA – Still smarting from the sapping weight of over two months strike by the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), the Management of Nasarawa State House of Assembly has directed its staff to shun the ongoing strike by the State Council of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
Consequently, the Assembly staff have been directed to immediately resume work as joining the strike would not be beneficial at the moment given the peculiarity of their issues.
Addressing newsmen in Lafia, Clerk of the Assembly, Mr Ego Maikeffi- Abashe, said having just returned to office after almost three two months of PASAN’s agitation over financial autonomy, going with NLC in their current statewide strike would be unwise and unproductive for their cause.
“We just resumed from two months strike over Financial Autonomy and I don’t think it is healthy for the workers of the Assembly to join NLC strike in the state”, he said.
Defending the management directives to the Assembly workers, the Clerk said; “The question I ask myself is that, are we going to be part of the beneficiaries of the NLC’s demands in the state, if at last their demands are met. We have our peculiar issues.”
According to him; “Joining their strike at this moment is not wise after spending over two months at home”, adding; “I have directed all my directors to inform their staff to resume work with immediate effect, ” he said.
However, when contacted on the issue, the State Chairman of PASAN, Comrade Dauda Nuhu, pleaded with the NLC and the State Government to return to the negotiation table in the best interest of the state.
“We in the State Assembly, as a Union under PASAN, are an affiliate body of the State NLC and we are in solidarity. But with this development, what I want to advise is that in the best interest of the state, let the NLC and government return to the negotiation table and resolve the matter amicably.
“We are hopeful that in the next few days, the issues will be resolved between government and NLC,” he said.
Aside from the State Assembly staff that seem set to abide by their management’s directive, the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) chapter in the state has already distanced itself from the NLC action. However, no official reasons were given for the NULGE’s position against the Labour Congress’ strike.
The NLC recently declared the indefinite strike to drive home their demands that include payment of the backlog of workers’ promotion allowances and new minimum wage among others. – With additional reports from NAN
