The organised labour under the auspices of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, as well as the state Joint Public Negotiation Council in Cross River State have asked workers to begin an indefinite strike to press home their 14-point demands.
In a bulletin issued by the labour unions on Monday in Calabar, all state and local government workers were asked to “down tools to press home our demands.”
According to the bulletin titled ‘Commencement of strike action’, the workers’ union leaders stated, “Dear comrades, whereas an enlarged Congress of organised labour, met on Wednesday, 6th October, 2021 at Nigerian Civil Service Union (NCSU) Secretariat, to deliberate on the many issues troubling the workers of Cross River State; whereas the Congress, after extensive deliberation, resolved that all the workers in the state and local government should down tools to press home our grievances.
“Workers are hereby called upon to stay at home, from Tuesday 12th October, 2021. Comrades stay at home until you hear from us.”
At their October 7, 2021 Congress, the workers had summed up a total of 14-point demands as contained in a statement issued after the congress and jointly signed by the state Chairman of the NLC, Ben Ukpepi and the state Trade Union Congress Chairman, Monday Ogbodum, and four other officials.
The demands and grievances of the workers include implementation of promotions of both state and local government workers, non remittance of deductions from workers’ salaries, full implementation of minimum wage to both state and local government workers, and non implementation of full 27.5 per cent teachers’ enhancement allowance.
Others include, stoppage of tax exemption and allowance for teachers, payment of hazard allowances for medical and health workers, inclusion of all staff employed but not yet payrolled by the state, reinstatement of pensioners wrongly removed from payroll, nonpayment of gratuities to both state and local government workers, among other demands.