Civil servants in Ebonyi begin 3-day warning strike

Civil servants in Ebonyi have begun a three-day warning strike to demand for improved conditions of service.

Ikechukwu Nwafor, chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Labour side, told journalists in Abakaliki, the state capital, that the workers, among other issues, were demanding the immediate payment of the September 2011 workers’ salaries being withheld by the state government for embarking on a ‘legitimate strike’.

Nwafor said that the state government was yet to address the contentious issue of the national minimum wage for civil servants in the state.

He said congress had written series of letters to the state government since 2012 on the matter, but that it was yet to receive positive response.

Nwafor said that a 21-day ultimatum given to government in December 2014 to meet the demands of the workers had elapsed.

“The warning strike, which commenced Wednesday, January 21 will end Friday, January 23; the strike is total, irrevocable and irreversible,” he said.

“We shall continue to agitate until all the demands and issues in contention are addressed. I call on the good and resilient workers of Ebonyi to remain dogged and steadfast in the action until victory is achieved.”

He said the congress had inaugurated a task force to monitor and enforce compliance, adding that all government ministries, parastatals agencies would remain under lock during the period.

Few civil servants were seen in small groups outside their offices discussing the strike. Some of them who spoke to NAN on strict condition of anonymity expressed support and solidarity with labour.

They further called on government to address all labour-related disputes in the state in the interest of industrial harmony and also to forestall a full scale indefinite strike by the workers.