* NLC, PDP seek reversal of the action
The decision by Governor Nasir el-Rufai to disengage 4,000 workers across the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State has sparked outrage.
It was gathered that on April 6, over 4,000 staff across 23 local governments areas received their disengagement letters.
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, described the action as “arbitrary and cruel”, and called on the Kaduna State Government to rescind the mass sack.
He said the decision to give effect to compulsory retirement of officers that are 50 years old and above; compulsory retirement of officers on Grade Level 14 and above, even when they are less than 50 years of age, violates the fundamental human and trade union rights of Kaduna State workers.
“Others are conversion to casual workers for officers on Grade Level 01 – 06 and the directive that no local government in Kaduna State shall have more than 50 staff strength. We understand that right now redundancy letters are being issued to workers caught in the web of this very arbitrary and cruel decision,” he said.
Wabba furthermore called the attention of the Kaduna State government to the clause in the redundancy letter issued to affected workers.
The clause says all the entitlements of the affected workers would be paid in due course.
Wabba described this as being in conflict with the provisions of the Labour Act on redundancy.
The Kaduna State Chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has also condemned the mass sack/retirement of workers.
State Publicity Secretary of the party, Abraham Alberah Catoh, described the action as unlawful, callous and smacks of the insensitivity to the plight of the good people of the state.
He said: “It is disheartening that a government which asserts itself as a believer of the rule of law, however, never hesitates to break the same law in pursuit of its unscrupulous policies, based on their whims and caprices.”
He called for a reversal of the mass sack of all those affected and payment of their entitlements.
One of the affected workers, Aliyu Aminu of the works department, who was retired from service on April 1, 2021, called on the government to pay his benefits, especially as the holy month of Ramadan has commenced.
Another staff member, who pleaded anonymity, wondered why the government fired and retired civil servants before the retirement age or number of years in service.
He said he has accepted his retirement in good faith, but also urged the government to pay his benefits.