Dare Babalola
Workers at the secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have shut down all offices following an indefinite strike declared by their umbrella union, the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC).
The FCTA workers have been appealing for urgent action to resolve the welfare issues affecting their morale and productivity before commencing on the strike.
The president of the union, Rifkatu Iortyer, told journalists that some of the concerns included non-remittance of pension and National Housing Fund deductions, and no payments or overheads.
Other issues, she said, were unlawful restriction and centralisation of salary preparation and payment, and non-payment of officers of the Abuja Environment Protection Board and Social Development Secretariat engaged to enforce laws and policies.
Also disturbing, according to Iortyer, is the absence of a financial threshold for Permanent Secretaries (PS) and Heads of SDAs and the elongation of tenure for some retired directors and PS.
She also listed other concerns, such as the non-payment of outstanding wage awards, unpaid promotion arrears, poor working conditions, staff intimidation, and lack of training and retraining.
She said that the workers also rejected the mass failure recorded in the 2024 promotion examination and demanded its reversal.
The president said that the issues were not new but have been festering for far too long, causing undue hardship and frustration to the very individuals who have dedicated their lives to serving the country.
She said that the gates would remain locked until the issues were addressed.
“Although the management has called us for a meeting, we will not attend until we are sure some key persons will sit with us at the discussion table,’ she said.
Recall that the union had in June 2025 shut the gates of the secretariat to draw the attention of the administration with a view to resolving the issues.
