*No, Obey Court Order, Mediation With Minister Underway -Barrister Max Opara
*Wike Has Now Seen What Workers Can Do, Lawyer Says
*National Industrial Court Orders Employees To Call Off Action
By Felix Durumbah, Abuja
Striking workers of Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) today vowed to continue their indefinite industrial action, despite a court order mandating two of their union leaders to call off the action and return to work.
The about 40,000-strong workforce proceeded on indefinite strike since Monday last week over a plethora of demands bordering on poor service conditions.
Though FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, who heads FCTA, had stated last week that ”10 out of 14″ demands had been met, the workers, through their umbrella Joint Unions Action Congress (JUAC) swiftly responded, dismissing the Minister’s statement as false, pointing out too that their demands were 18 and not 14.
Thereafter, the impasse landed both parties before the National Industrial Court (NIC) with Wike as first Claimant and FCTA as second Claimant.
JUAC president, Mrs Rifkatu Iortyer, and secretary, Abdullahi Umar Saleh (first and second Respondents respectively), were sued in their personal capacities, according to information available from the originating summons.
Today, the NIC delivered a ruling on an interlocutory injunction filed by the Claimants’ counsel, Mr James Onoja SAN, seeking to compel staff to return to work immediately.
Justice Emmanuel Subilim, who granted the prayer, held that the suspension of the strike was to prevent the paralyzing of government business in the territory if the strike became extended.
The judge noted that although strike was a right of workers to express their grievance, the adoption of such tool in industrial relations is not absolute.
He cited Section 18(1)b of the Trade Dispute Act and explained that workers cannot embark on industrial action over a dispute that had already been referred to the NIC.
The Minister and FCTA had in the originating summons contended that the strike was not in compliance with the Trade Disputes Act, insisting that JUAC is not a registered trade union known to law.
But after the verdict, the workers vowed to continue the strike.
To them, since both Iortyer and Saleh were sued in their private and individual capacities, the duo were free to return to work, stressing that for the majority of the workforce, the ruling was not binding on them and so they will not go back to work till all their demands were met.
The workers’ counsel, Barrister Max Opara, had, at a media interaction yesterday, berated Wike for bringing to court a matter he (Minister) personally would have sat down with the labour leaders to settle amicably.
Workers Insist On Strike
Addressing newsmen after today’s court hearing, a spokesman of the workers, who did not give his name, merely saying he was speaking on behalf of his colleagues, emphasized that the two JUAC leaders can return to work, but that the workforce will continue the strike.
He said: “President Rifkatu and Umar Saleh,secretary, were arraigned before the Honorable Justice of the Industrial Court and judgment was given.
“What we want to declare here is, we have suffered enough. We have tabled our demands before the Honorable Minister of FCT and the management, but instead of them to do the needful, they were going about propaganda, going about to sue the union to court.
“Now, I’m going to declare that if the president of JUAC and the secretary of JUAC decide to go back to work, they’re free to go back to work, but we, on behalf of FCTA workers, are standing in to say that we’re not going back to work.”
The pronouncement was greeted with rapturous, affirmative cheers by FCTA workers present at the briefing, with most of them yelling “we’re not going back to work!”, amid rounds of hand clapping and air thumping with fists.
The cheers became so prolonged that he had to extend his right arm in a move urging the staff members to calm down.
The spokesman continued: “We premise our argument on the fact that we tabled our demands before you, you’ve not met our demands and you’re now using another instrument to bend our hands,to tie our hands; we’ll not allow that to happen.
“Now we want to put it before you, FCTA/FCDA workers: Are you ready to go back to work?”
The response was a thunderous “No oooo!”
Workers’ Lawyer Talks Compliance To Court Order
However, Barrister Opara addressed another gathering of workers after the verdict. With him were the JUAC president and other officials.
In it, the lawyer explained the court order and urged the workers to comply for now so as not to be seen as “outlaws.”
The popular legal practitioner revealed that he, Onoja and the judge had agreed that a mediation with the Minister was necessary to accomplish the workers’ demands, but only after they suspend the strike and resume work.
According to Barrister Opara, a letter on the mediation which will be addressed to the Minister, will be ready before the end of the day, expressing optimism that the Minister will be amenable to negotiation, having witnessed,via the strike, worker power and the consequences of neglecting same.
Assuring the workers that they lose nothing by returning to work, he disclosed that by close to the end of March 2026, if no progress is made in achieving their demands, then the employees will be justified in pursuing any other legitimate course of action they deem fit.
Wike Reacts
Also reacting, the Minister, who spoke to newsmen in his office, said he is prepared for dialogue, but rejected what he described as any blackmail and intimidating tactics.
He had been asked what the industrial relations atmosphere would be like, going forward, against the backdrop of the court verdict.
Wike replied: “We have always been disposed to having dialogue. Like I told you, they have met with the management, they have met with security agencies.
“They give you this kind of hope, ‘no problem, nothing will happen’; before you know it, they’ll go and do a different thing.
“If genuinely, genuinely, you say, ‘Ok, we’ve seen what has happened before, what has gone wrong’, then we talk.
“But when your blackmail, intimidation… we’ll not agree. If you like, go and hire all the civil servants in the whole world, it’s not my business.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: A section of protesting FCTA/FCDA workers.
