The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared support for the indefinite strike by workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), describing the action as “necessary and heroic” in response to alleged violation of workers’ rights.
In a statement signed by Joe Ajaero, NLC president, on Friday, the labour union said it stood “in very strong solidarity” with FCTA workers under the aegis of the Joint Unions Action Congress (JUAC).
Ajaero described the strike as “a necessary and heroic response to a vicious cocktail of neoliberal attacks, gross administrative impunity, and a systematic violation of the fundamental rights of workers by the FCTA management and its political leadership”.
The NLC president said consultations with JUAC leaders revealed a “deliberate and calculated assault on the working class within the nation’s capital,” adding that the actions of the FCTA amounted to “capitalist exploitation and bureaucratic oppression”.
“The case of Wage abuse was well established. The illegal withholding of five months’ wage award and promotion arrears is not an administrative lapse but a brazen denial of workers’ legitimate earnings, a direct attack on their livelihoods and a violation of the constitutional guarantee of remuneration,” the statement reads.
The union leader alleged that the FCTA failed to remit pension contributions and National Housing Fund deductions since May 2025.
“The non-remittance of pension contributions since May 2025 and National Housing Fund deductions is an act of economic sabotage against both active and retired workers, condemning them to a destitute old age. This is capital accumulation by dispossession, plain and simple. It is unacceptable,” the statement said.
“The intimidation of staff, including bans on phone usage and incarceration of workers, is fascistic tactic designed to cripple workers’ solidarity and silence dissent, in utter contempt of constitutional rights and international labour conventions.”
AFFILIATE UNIONS TO JOIN STRIKE
The labour body announced an escalation of the industrial action, directing all its affiliate unions in the FCT to fully align with the strike.
The NLC also directed workers to mobilise to the National Industrial Court on January 26, where the court will hear a suit filed by the FCTA and Nyesom Wike, FCT minister, challenging the strike.
The NLC president warned the FCTA management and political leadership that “the patience of the working class is exhausted,” adding that failure to resolve the dispute would lead to further escalation.
“To the workers of the FCTA, NLC says: Your struggle is our struggle. Your victory will be a victory for every exploited worker in Nigeria,” the statement said.
