Nasarawa NULGE goes on indefinite strike

“Our strike action is total and we are not considering returning to our duty posts so long as the state government remains insensitive to our struggle for our entitlements”, Salihu Eladoga, state chairman of the union said yesterday in a chat with Daily Trust.Comrade Eladoga, and Comrade Abdullahi Haruna, state secretary, in an earlier statement […]

“Our strike action is total and we are not considering returning to our duty posts so long as the state government remains insensitive to our struggle for our entitlements”, Salihu Eladoga, state chairman of the union said yesterday in a chat with Daily Trust.
Comrade Eladoga, and Comrade Abdullahi Haruna, state secretary, in an earlier statement made available to newsmen last week, said staff promotion and annual increment lingered for three years without government showing serious commitment.
The statement also raised non-payment of Leave Transport Grant from 2010, under payment of some staff salaries amongst other demands. The statement said all efforts to resolve that issue failed because government remained insensitive to demands from the union.
“We have met with the government on three consecutive occasions since May this year reminding them of the need to meet our demands but all attempts failed.
“Having exhausted all avenues where local government workers demands can be ensured, the state executive council of the union was compelled to embark on a working day strike action that elapsed on August 5, 2013.
“Accordingly, in view of the insensitivity of the state government to the local government workers demand, the SEC in session has approved with immediate effect an indefinite strike until the state government responded positively,” it said.
The statement further enjoined local government workers to discountenance anyone who may want to lure them back to work, while they await further directive from the NULGE state secretariat.
Barr. Sani Hauwa, State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, reacting to the strike action said the group was a factional arm of NULGE and does not have the legal backing to take such an action.
“As far as the state government is concerned, NULGE in the state has no leadership and any group parading itself and even calling for a strike is only trying to galvanise the local government workers and deceive them in order to achieve their selfish aim,” Hauwa said.
He said the state government is studying some of the issues raised with the view to taking appropriate action that would better the lot of the workers at the local government.