Benue workers begin indefinite strike

Civil servants in Benue on Tuesday commenced an indefinite strike over unpaid salaries.

On Monday, the joint executive council of the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress had directed the workers to begin the industrial action the next day (Tuesday).

In a communique issued at their meeting in Makurdi, the labour leaders had said the strike was prompted by the inability of the state government to meet their demands after their seven-day warning strike.

The workers said they were owed seven months while their local government counterparts say they are owed for eleven months.

“SEC resolved to embark on total, comprehensive and indefinite strike with effect from Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017 to press home its demand of seven months salary arrears for state workers, March to September, 2017, 11 months’ salary arrears for teachers and local governments’ workers, November 2016 to September 2017 and 13 months’ arrears of pensions and gratuities for state and 14 months for local governments’ workers,” the communique read.

This is coming barely two hours after doctors in Kaduna state embarked on an indefinite strike, citing the “sorry state” of healthcare facilities in state government hospitals as their reasons.