Construction workers on Friday threatened to halt the ongoing work on major highways in the country including Abuja-Kano road following the sack of not less than 52,000 of their members.
Some of the roads that may be affected include: Obajana road, Abuja-Kano Road, Bodo-Bonny road, East-West road, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Kogi-Auchi road and Zaria-Sokoto road.
The workers under the aegis of Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA) and National Union of Civil Engineering Construction Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW) said they would embark on a nationwide strike after 21 days if their demands were not met.
They said disagreement between the Federal Ministry of Works and their employers — Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) — has led to the sacking of about 3,000 of their members.
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The two unions, both affiliates of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), lamented a slowdown in the industry due to disagreement between the contractors handling various civil construction projects for the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Works as a result of unilateral imposition of new standard conditions of contracts allegedly by the Minister, contrary to the existing conditions as approved by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
The unions said this disagreement had affected employment in the industry, leading to mass sack of Nigerian workers who are their members.
The Presidents of CCESSA and NUCECFWW Engr. Ayodeji Adeyemo and Comrade Stephen Okoro said this during a press briefing on Friday in Abuja.
They said: “In the last three months we have lost almost 3,000 and the mass sack is still continuing. If care is not taken, if the conflict is not resolved, in the next two months, we are expecting additional 32,000 workers to be affected.
“The mass sack will affect the major roads being handled by the major construction companies like RCC, Setraco, Salini, and others.
“The impending strike will affect Obajana road, Abuja-Kano Road, Bodo-Bonny road, East-West road, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Kogi-Auchi road, Zaria-Sokoto road
“Today, there is a total slowdown in the industry due to disagreement between the contractors handling various civil construction projects for the Federal Government and the ministry of Works as a result of unilateral imposition of new standard conditions of contracts by the Minister, contrary to the existing conditions as approved by the Bureau of public procurement (BPP). This has affected employment in the industry, leading to mass sack of Nigerian workers who are members of our unions.
“This is in contrast to the Renew Hope Agenda of the present regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Currently we have lost over 50 percent of our members as a result of the disagreement; this situation is bound to further increase poverty and insecurity that the country is grappling with.”
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