Labour To Shut Down FCTA With Solidarity Rally Tuesday

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have directed their affiliates and state councils to mobilise massively for a peaceful solidarity rally in Abuja, declaring full backing for members of the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) who have been battling the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) over the plight of workers.

In a joint statement titled “We Are With You” and made available to newsmen on Sunday, the labour centres said the rally would hold on Tuesday, February 3, at the Federal Capital Development Authority, insisting that the struggle of FCTA workers was justifiable, legitimate and non-negotiable.

In a statement jointly signed by the Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Benson Upah, and the Secretary General of the TUC, Comrade Nuhu Toro, the Centres reaffirmed what they described as “unwavering solidarity” with JUAC members, urging workers to remain steadfast and courageous in defence of their rights and dignity.

They stressed that the agitation must be pursued with unity of purpose and an unbreakable spirit.

The statement partly reads: “All affiliates and state councils are therefore directed to ensure effective internal mobilisation and timely dissemination of this information to their members.”

While noting that the action would be lawful and peaceful, the labour centres warned against intimidation and repression, declaring that there must be “no retreat and no surrender” in the face of attempts to wear out workers through hardship and fear.

They argued that history had shown that workers’ rights were never granted but won through principled collective struggle.

According to the Labour centres, the planned rally was to publicly affirm the long-standing labour creed that “an injury to one is an injury to all,” and to underline that the Nigerian labour movement would not abandon its own.