Salary arrears: NAFDAC workers call off strike — after five weeks

The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has called off its strike.

The union had embarked on a strike on June 22 over the non-payment of welfare packages.

Auwalu Kiyawa, Lagos state chairman of the union, had announced the strike, saying it will not be called off until the demands of the workers are met.

However, Abubakar Jimoh, NAFDAC spokesman, confirmed to TheCable on Monday that the strike had been called off after the union reached an agreement with the agency.

Jimoh added that the staff had been instructed to resume immediately.

“Yes, they have called off the strike and agreement reached with the union. The union has told the staff to resume work immediately,” he said.

A source had told TheCable that only workers from the south had participated in the strike.

The source said though the entire union agreed on the matter of welfare package, the Abuja and northern axis of the union excluded themselves from participating in the strike.

“The Abuja axis believes that the strike is premature and that they will not join,” the source had said.

“The issue is bordering on staff welfare. The Lagos and Abuja chapters are unanimous on the issue, but the method of achieving it is what they disagreed on, particularly the timing.”

The union had also gone on strike in 2021 over the “backlog of unpaid financial claims, poor work environment, lack of staff bus to ease transportation difficulties, and discriminatory payment of COVID palliative”.