Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna state had thought intimidating some people would have solved the problem his government is having with civil service but rather than been intimidated, the Nigerian Labor Congress led by its president Ayuba Waba on Thursday said the organized labor cannot be intimidated by anybody in its pursuit for their legitimate rights.
The labour President when he led a handful of its members in a peaceful protest to the Kaduna state government house said the union will maintain its stand on the position of 36,000 workers sacked by governor El-Rufai even as the governor is disobeying court order and using security agencies to intimidate the workers who were on peaceful protests.
Waba during the protest said no competency test was conducted for the local government workers before they were sacked the Kaduna state government only raised false allegations of incompetency on the part of the sacked workers as a means of reducing the Kaduna state workforce.
In his address Waba said “the sack of 36,000 workers has nothing to do with competency; Kaduna state government didn’t conduct competency test for local government workers yet they were sacked. We are here to defend the right of 36,000 workers and their families that have been disengaged from the state civil service.
The last time we were here we talked of only 21,000 teachers, but today, as we speak over 4,000 local government workers, have been issued sack letters, and over 8,000 from ministries, department and agencies including tertiary institutions have been sacked. This is cruelty, as this is not what we bargained for and we can’t keep quiet in a decent society where this is happening.
We have now tested the waters and the struggle will be carried out to every state. In Kaduna state no worker is safe, no family is safe and it is better they are defeated struggling than to be defeated in their comfort zone. Injury to one is an injury to all and I am happy that our unions are here in full force to support us. This solidarity must continue because today is for Kaduna workers and tomorrow can be workers in other states.’’
