.as police warn NLC
The Chairman of the NLC in Plateau, Jubril Bancir, gave the strike notice on Saturday in Jos at a news conference after a meeting with the Special Task Force (STF) maintaining peace in the state failed to reach an agreement.
Bancir said there was no going back on the threat by labour to shut down all government and private businesses on Monday, due to the State Government’s failure to implement the N18,000 minimum wage to Local Government employees.
He said the government had yet to make any move to stop the industrial action. Bancir said that labour was not aware of the purported court injunction, ordering it not to go on the planned strike.
According to him, no such order has been received either by the national or state secretariats of the NLC as at the time of the conference.
He, however, said that talks with the STF, aimed at resolving the impasse, failed because the state chapter of the NLC could not call off a strike, ordered by its national secretariat.
The STF had in a statement described the issue as capable of jeopardising the relative peace in Plateau.
The statement signed by Capt. Salisu Mustapha was issued after talks to persuade the state chapter of the NLC to call off the impending strike failed.
In the statement, the STF said that it had come to its notice that the NLC had summoned all workers, private establishments, traders and all service providers to withdraw their services by midnight on Dec 10.
The STF said the continued insistence of labour on the strike was in disobedience to the interim injunction by the National Industrial Court, restraining all workers or labour unions in the state from declaring or embarking on any strike. meanwhile, the Plateau State police command has warned labour to desist from embarking on any protest or demonstration capable of thwarting the existing fragile peace in the state.
Spokesman of the state police command D.S. P. Abu Emmanuel in a press statement made available to newsmen in Jos yesterday stressed that it has received a court order from the National Industrial court of Nigeria restraining the NLC and any other persons from declaring any strike action.
The statement further appealled to the good people of the state to go about their lawful business as the command has strategized to protect lives and property of the people of the state. It also warned that lawless will not be tolerated by any Body or group of persons.
In the same vein, a group known as Plateau Pragmatic Leadership Forum (PPLF) yesterday said it would resist any attempt by the NLC to disrupt the peace in the state.
Addressing a press conference yesterday in Jos, its Chairman, Mr Joshua Wang said that the threat by labour portends great danger to the state, adding that after a careful examination of the issues at stake, the group has come to realize that the strike action has been hijacked by political interest opposed to Governor Jonah Jang’s administration to destabilize the state.
He contended that available facts showed that the Jang administration has done a lot to improve the welfare of workers as it has gone ahead to clear a backlog of salaries, leave and transport grants, arrears of pension, implemented 18,000 minimum wage at the state level, actualized COMESS/ CONHESS,CONJUS, CONTISS, 12 percent teachers salary structure and 12 percent salary increase; stressing that as such the current plan by labour to shut down the state and general services creates doubts as to the motive and interest at play.
National Mirror
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