Civil servants in Cross River commence indefinite strike over non-payment of retirees’ pension, gratuity

Government activities were paralysed in some offices in Cross River State on Monday, while some agencies and offices rendered skeletal services and their workers closed early, following the indefinite strike embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress.

The state chapter of the NLC, led by Comrade Benedict Ukpepi, had declared an indefinite strike over non-payment of pension, gratuities, removal of names of civil servants from payroll, non-implementation of promotion, among others.

The Civil servants said they refused to go to work in obedience to an order by the state council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) asking them to stay at home for an indefinite strike. Though members of Trade Union Congress (TUC) did not participate in the strike, the Vice Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state, Comrade Gabriel Effiong said that TUC was not carried along by NLC while declaring a strike action.

The striking workers said, “The government has refused to pay outstanding gratuities to both state and local government retirees from 2014. There has not been any implementation of promotions for both state and local government workers. All workers whose names were removed from the payroll illegally have not been reinstated; there has not been any weigh-in allowance to workers in the radio, television, theatre arts and paper printing workers in the state, amongst others,”

The Cross River State Government has however issued a ‘no work no pay’ directive to the striking workers in the state’s civil service.