By MARTINS ABOCHOL

Workers in Taraba went about their normal schedules on Tuesday in defiance of an indefinite nationwide strike called by the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that government offices in Jalingo were fully operational as civil servants reported for duty.

Mr Tanimu Musa, a civil servant told NAN that the strike was counterproductive.

Musa noted that the Federal and state governments had demonstrated their commitment to ameliorate hardships faced by workers and by the Nigerian masses.

He said the Federal Government, for instance, provided palliatives and increased wages, while Taraba had also been paying the N30,000 minimum wage.

Another civil servant, Mr Joel Yakubu, said, however that an NLC team was going round to enforce the strike order.

“State workers are yet to receive their October salary which the governor ordered must be paid on the basis of the N30,000 minimum wage.

“The order delayed the October salary as fresh vouchers needed to be raised to reflect the wage increase.

“It is arguable that shunning the strike is a decoy by Taraba workers so they would not extend the payday unnecessarily.

The NLC and TUC called the strike to protest against the manhandling of the National President of the NLC Mr Joe Ajaero, by hoodlums in Owerri on Nov. 1.

While declaring the strike, Ajaero said the industrial action was in protest against “the persistent and egregious violations of the rights and privileges of workers in Imo by the state government.

“Despite our repeated efforts to engage in constructive dialogue and reach amicable agreements, Imo government has become a habitual and serial breaker of agreements, continuing to trample on the rights of workers in the state.’’

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria on Friday restrained the labour unions from embarking on strike.

President of the court, Justice Benedict Kanyip, ordered the nation’s two major labour unions to stop the industrial action scheduled to begin on Nov. 14.

The Interim order followed an ex-parte request by the Nigerian government through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN). (NAN)

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