The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a stern warning to the Federal Government over the withheld salaries of university non-teaching staff.
The congress threatens a nationwide protest if the government fails to address the issue.
In a statement by its Head of Public Affairs, Benson Upah, the NLC condemned the alleged harassment of protesting university workers by the Commissioner of Police, FCT, Bennet Igweh. The police had stopped the Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions from protesting in Abuja.
The NLC described the police action as a violation of the constitution, ILO Conventions, and African Charter on People and Human Rights, which guarantee freedom of association and speech. The congress described the police behavior as “an affront” and “an insult to the dignity of self-respecting and law-abiding citizens.”
The non-teaching staff members had been demanding payment of their four-month withheld salaries, which they claimed was paid to other unions for the same strike action. The NLC warned that the government’s failure to address the issue would lead to a nationwide protest.
