Three days into the ongoing Strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Cross River State Government has issued a “no work no pay” directive to striking workers in the state civil service.
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Head of Service, Emmanuel Eke said that “the Head of Service has directed all public servants to ignore the strike called by the NLC, saying it is “illegal and ill-timed”.
The statement reminded workers that the labour unions responsible for the affairs of the State are the Civil/Public Servants Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, JPSNC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, and have disassociated themselves from the industrial action, hence the need for them to be in their various offices.
He further explained that the state government has implemented the new minimum wage and has commenced phased implementation of other agreements reached with labour, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic with the attendant economic challenges.
The head of service also charged workers to adhere strictly to government’s safety directives, insisting that the no work, no pay policy is still in force and any worker who fails to report for duty would not be paid.
The statement hinted that an enforcement team headed by the Head of Service would visit all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, to ascertain the level of compliance that any erring worker would be sanctioned in line with the provisions of the Public Service Rule in the state.
Reacting to threat by the Government, the NLC Chairman, Comrade Ben Ukpepi, urged workers not to be deterred by government’s directive and should continue to stay at home until specific issues brought to their table are addressed.
