By Jelili Gbadamosi
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in the Federal Capital Territory have demanded the removal of the vacancy clause in teachers’ promotion procedures and the reinstatement of demoted directors as conditions for resolving the ongoing industrial dispute.
The unions also rejected a directive by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, ordering the enforcement of the no-work, no-pay policy against striking workers.
The NLC FCT Chairman, Knabayi Adalo, and the NUT FCT Wing Secretary, Margaret Jethro, made their positions known in separate circulars issued to members on Sunday, describing the minister’s directive as illegal and unenforceable.
The dispute followed an indefinite strike declared by the NLC on October 7 over unresolved disagreements between the FCT Administration and the NUT.
Wike had directed area council chairmen to implement the no-work, no-pay policy against striking workers. He also instructed the FCT Head of Civil Service, school principals and headteachers to maintain daily attendance registers to monitor employees who failed to report for duty.
However, Adalo urged workers and teachers to remain committed to the industrial action, insisting that participation in a properly conducted strike was a legitimate labour right.
He cited Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, the Trade Unions Act and International Labour Organisation Conventions 87, 98 and 151 in support of the unions’ position.
On the proposed salary deductions, the NLC chairman argued that Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act, which provides for the no-work, no-pay principle, applied to illegal strikes.
He maintained that the FCT Administration should not penalise workers for taking industrial action over grievances allegedly arising from the administration’s own decisions.
According to him, the introduction of a vacancy clause in teachers’ promotion procedures and the demotion of directors allegedly entitled to protection under the Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022, were among the issues that triggered the dispute.
Adalo also cited previous judgments of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, which he said supported workers’ entitlement to salaries in certain circumstances involving legitimate industrial action.
He further directed union members not to sign attendance registers introduced to monitor striking teachers, describing the exercise as an attempt to undermine the industrial action.
The labour leader warned that principals and headteachers who compelled teachers to sign the registers or submitted their names for disciplinary action could face union sanctions, including picketing.
He called on the FCT Administration to remove the disputed vacancy clause, conduct the 2025 promotion exercise and reinstate the demoted directors.
Similarly, Jethro urged teachers not to be intimidated by threats of salary deductions or disciplinary action, maintaining that their demands concerned workers’ welfare rather than political interests.
She also appealed to members to remain peaceful and law-abiding throughout the strike.
The NUT secretary thanked teachers for participating in the industrial action but criticised the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), accusing it of withdrawing from the strike.
The unions maintained that resolving the outstanding disputes and addressing their demands remained the appropriate way to end the industrial action, rather than imposing sanctions on workers.
