Workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration and the Federal Capital Development Authority Monday, commenced an industrial action, shutting down activities across Abuja, over what they described as “unmet demands” by the Federal Government.

Channels Television’s crew visited the FCTA Secretariat at 9:00 a.m. and observed a heavy security presence at the entrance, with personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigeria Police Force stationed at the gate.

Workers were barred from entering the premises.

The strike is expected to affect all FCTA secretariats, departments, agencies, area councils, and parastatals, effectively grounding official activities within the Federal Capital Territory.

Earlier, the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC) issued a strike ordering workers across all cadres of the administration to withdraw their services by Monday, January 19, 2025.

The directive was contained in a statement dated January 8 and signed by the JUAC President, Rifkatu Iortyer, and the Secretary, Abdullahi Saleh, with the unions stating that an earlier ultimatum issued on January 7 had elapsed without meaningful engagement from management.

According to the unions, key grievances include the non-payment of outstanding promotion arrears, delays in the conduct and release of promotion exercises, and what they described as the continued extension of service for retired directors and permanent secretaries, a practice they said was blocking career progression for serving officers.

The workers also accused the administration of failing to remit statutory deductions, including pension contributions and National Housing Fund payments, warning that the situation could jeopardise the future welfare of affected staff.

JUAC further expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of the 2024 promotion examinations, describing the exercise as largely unsuccessful and alleging that a significant number of its members were adversely affected. (Channels)