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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
National Industrial Court (NICN) in Abuja, yesterday, issued a restraining order against workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
This order bars the union’s leaders, agents and members from strikes, picketing, lockouts, road blockades, or any moves to paralyze FCTA operations.
The injunction followed an indefinite strike launched on Monday by workers under the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC), protesting unpaid promotion arrears and other entitlements.
Honourable Justice E. D. Subilim approved the FCT Minister and FCTA’s urgent application, halting the action despite the absence of the defendants, Rifkatu Iortyer (JUAC president) and Abdullahi Umar Saleh (secretary).
Led by Dr Ogwu J. Onoja, the FCTA’s legal team contended that the strike was unlawful and risked crippling administrative functions. Justice Subilim agreed, ruling that the applicants deserved judicial protection.
With defendants missing, the court authorised substituted service by publishing the Originating Summons in a national daily and posting it at JUAC’s office in the FCTA Secretariat, Kapital Street, Area 11, Garki, Abuja.
The matter was adjourned to Monday, January 26.
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However, the workers have vowed to intensify their ongoing strike.
JUAC, in a statement by the Publicity Secretary, Abdullahi Umar Saleh, directed all staff to continue to stay at home until their demands are fully met, dismissing attempts to intimidate or coerce them back to work.
The strike, which began on Monday, January 19, saw the workers locked the gates of their offices, enforcing a total strike to press for resolution of long-standing grievances, including unpaid pensions, promotion exam failures, and intimidation by management favourites.
JUAC President, Iyote, who addressed journalists at the scene, clarified that the action marked a shift from prior failed negotiations. “There’s no demonstration but there’s a strike,” Iyote stated firmly. “The reason for this strike is because we want to call the attention of the management of FCTA to certain grievances, quite a number of them, that we’ve tried to resolve but it has not happened in a while. And we do not have a choice than to do exactly what we’re doing today.”
Iyote detailed a 22-point list of demands, starting with financial woes. She highlighted “issues of non-remittance of our pension funds to our pension fund managers” and unresolved National Housing Fund (NHF) contributions. Tenure extensions for directors past retirement age were also flagged as “stunting our growth.” She explained that the strike gained urgency from a recent computer-based test (CBT) promotion exam, marred by glitches. “We have issues of mass failure in the just concluded CBT exam which has happened in FCTA for the first time,” Iyote explained. “And so many glitches happened ranging from power failure, overcrowdedness, invalid logging and all. And before we know it, they gave us a 22.5% success rate. And we know that we are not dons in the FCTA and we know that this is not what should be.”
She mentioned that wage awards and allowances remain contentious. “Another of our agitation is the wage award which has not been paid,” Iyote said. “When we started talking about this, they decided to pay one month for every staff member for five months. They paid the hazard allowance for the health and medical workers, the 13 months which is part of our grievance.”
Iyote decried intimidation tactics: “We have been intimidated by the favourites of the honourable minister. We have situations of civil servants making one mistake or the other. And instead of following the procedures of disciplinary action in the civil service, we have been taken away by policemen. Stay one, two, three days and then we are being released.”
She said the gate lockdown symbolised their resolve not to shift their position until their demands are met.
