The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Federal Capital Territory Council and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) FCT Wing have rejected Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike’s directive to enforce a “no-work, no-pay” policy against workers joining the ongoing indefinite strike.
In separate circulars issued on Sunday and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, NLC FCT Council Chairman Knabayi Adalo and NUT FCT Wing Secretary Margaret Jethro described the order as “unconstitutional, illegal, provocative and unenforceable.”
Wike had on Friday instructed area council chairmen to apply the policy to striking staff. He also directed the FCT Head of Civil Service, school principals and headteachers to open daily attendance registers to monitor absentees.
The move came after the NLC declared an indefinite strike on 7 October over unresolved disputes between the FCT Administration and teachers.Adalo urged workers and teachers to stay away from their duty posts and ignore threats of salary deductions or attendance tracking.
He said the right to strike is protected by Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, the Trade Unions Act and International Labour Organisation Conventions 87, 98 and 151, all of which Nigeria has ratified.
The NLC FCT had met all legal requirements before declaring the action, he added.On the “no-work, no-pay” rule, Adalo argued that Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act applies only to illegal strikes.
Employers cannot withhold pay when their own actions created the conditions for industrial action, he said.
The FCT Administration had provoked the dispute by imposing a vacancy requirement on teachers’ promotions and demoting directors who qualified under the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
He also pointed to National Industrial Court rulings that, in his view, support payment of salaries during legitimate strikes caused by an employer’s breach of agreement.
Adalo instructed members to refuse to sign any attendance registers opened during the strike, describing them as having no legal force and intended only to divide workers.
Principals or headteachers who compel signatures or submit lists for punishment will be held personally responsible and face possible picketing, he warned.
Workers facing queries or harassment should report to the NLC FCT Council secretariat with evidence.
He called on the administration to resolve the core issues removing the vacancy clause, conducting the 2025 promotion exercise and fully reinstating demoted directors rather than resorting to intimidation.
“We assure all teachers and workers that the NLC will protect your jobs and salaries. No worker will be victimised,” Adalo said.Jethro similarly branded the “no-work, no-pay” threat illegal and empty.
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