FCTA Environmental Workers Embark on Indefinite Strike over New Salary Structure

Olawale Ajimotokan

Workers of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) have embarked on an indefinite strike over non-implementation of board’s new salary structure.

The AEPB is the agency saddled with cleaning the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The workers vowed never to return to work until their demands were implemented.

An Assistant Director of the AEPB, Mr. Udeme Umanah, disclosed yesterday that the workers decided to embark on strike because of the failure of the administration to implement the new salary structures for AEPB after the expiration of several ultimatums.

Umanah said that it was in consideration of the sensitive and hazardous work schedule of AEPB that the National Salary and Income Wages Commission recommended CONHESS salary structures for AEPB.

He said: “The AEPB is an autonomous agency established under AEPB Acts of 1997. The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) wants AEPB to be a department under the administration. The Act provided that the board employs staff and others can be by secondment. The Director of AEPB is determined by the FCT Minister.

“The presidential committee approved the same salary structures as the National Salary and Income Wages Commission which was forwarded to FCTA in 2021. They commenced the CONHESS salary structures from January 2020. The Health, Agric, Social Development Secretariat, and FCT-IRS earn different salary structures they have had any trouble,” Umanah said.

He said that the workers decided to embark on strike at the end of the three day-notice that followed the 21 days ultimatum to implement the salary structures for AEPB.

He said: “It was after the expiration of the three days’ notice that the minister called us and agreed to implement the salary structures and pleaded that we should not go on strike and that we should give them two weeks to sort it out.

“By last Friday, our two weeks noticed expired and by Monday, we embarked on an indefinite strike and we are not ready to go back until they implement our salary structures,” he vowed.

It would be recalled that the AEPB workers last week barricaded the agency’s headquarters in protest of the non-implementation of a new salary structure said to have been approved since 2019.