NLC, NUT react to Nyesom Wike’s work-no pay directive

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council, and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Wing, have rejected the no-work, no-pay directive issued by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike against workers participating in the ongoing strike.

According to Vanguard, the unions described the directive as unconstitutional, illegal and unenforceable, urging workers and teachers to remain committed to the industrial action despite threats of salary deductions and attendance monitoring.

The NLC FCT Chairman, Knabayi Adalo, and NUT FCT Wing Secretary, Margaret Jethro, stated their positions in separate circulars issued to members on Sunday.

The circulars were made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

Wike had directed area council chairmen to implement the no-work, no-pay policy following the indefinite strike declared by the NLC on October 7 over unresolved disputes between the FCT Administration and the NUT.

The minister also instructed the FCT Head of Civil Service, school principals and headteachers to maintain daily attendance registers to identify workers absent from duty.

Adalo maintained that strike action was protected by Nigerian law and international labour conventions, citing Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, the Trade Unions Act and International Labour Organisation Conventions 87, 98 and 151.

He argued that Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act, which provides for the no-work, no-pay principle, applied only to illegal strikes.

According to him, the dispute arose from the administration’s alleged imposition of a vacancy clause on teachers’ promotions and the demotion of directors covered by the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.

The NLC chairman demanded the removal of the vacancy clause, completion of the 2025 promotion exercise and reinstatement of the affected directors.

He also urged teachers not to sign attendance registers opened during the strike, warning that the union would challenge alleged intimidation and victimisation.

Meanwhile, Jethro described Wike’s directive as an empty threat and urged teachers not to abandon the strike out of fear.

She accused the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) of betraying teachers by withdrawing from the industrial action.

Both unions called on members to remain peaceful and law-abiding, insisting that their demands concerned workers’ welfare rather than political interests.

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