- Safiu Kehinde
Members of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have on Thursday morning stormed the Ministry of Steel Development Complex at Wuse 2, Abuja, in protest over workers’ welfare.
Led by Comrade Eche Asuzu, the joint labour union barricaded the main gate of the ministry’s headquarters, preventing entry and exit of staffers of the ministry.
They decried the Federal Government’s alleged maltreatment of staffers at the ministry and demanded better wages.
As captured in a video shared on X, the protesters carried placards with different inscriptions as they sang solidarity songs to express their agitation.
Prominent amongst the union’s agitation was over the ministry'[s failure to obey a court judgement ordering the reinstatement of a staff member, Comrade Victor Ekpaha, who was said to have been unlawfully sacked 20 years ago.
The workers, according to report, demanded full payment of Ekpaha’s salaries, allowances and other benefits for the period of over 20 years that the case had lingered.