KANO WORKERS BEGIN STRIKE

The tide of labour crisis currently sweeping across the nation has reached Kano State with leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state ordering its members to embark on an indefinite strike from midnight today.

Briefing journalists in Kano at the end of its executive meeting, the state NLC Chairman, Alhaji Isa Inusa Danguguwa, said the strike was designed to press home their demand for payment of the N18,000 minimum wage by the state government.

He said the strike was general in nature, adding that all workers in the state's media organizations must also comply with the directive and down tool from 12 p.m today.

He explained that the decision to embark on indefinite strike was taken after an exhaustive executive meeting, which was attended by all leaders and stakeholders of the union in the state. He regretted that they had in the past written and despatched two separate letters to the state government in respect of the agreement, which was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan.

But despite these separate letters, he said, the state government elected to ignore their appeals, hence the need to direct workers in the state to go on strike.

'We could not have embarked on the strike, but this is a last resort,' said the chairman.

The chairman warned civil servants in the state to totally respect the directive and avoid posing as saboteurs to the action as that would not go down well with the efforts to get the state government to pay the new minimum wage.