Workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) received their January salaries last Friday alongside the payment of one month of the five-month Wage Award arrears owed to them, officials have confirmed.
With the latest disbursement, the FCTA has now settled two out of the five months’ Wage Award arrears, while the remaining three months are scheduled to be paid with workers’ salaries for February, March and April.
Despite the ongoing payments, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is mobilising workers in other sectors for a protest slated for Tuesday.
However, FCTA workers—on whose behalf the protest is being organised—were at their duty posts on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week and are also expected to resume work on Monday, raising questions about the necessity of the planned action.
Sources within the FCTA disclosed that while more than 20 states have either suspended payment of the Wage Award or failed to implement it entirely, the Federal Capital Territory has maintained consistent payments and has already cleared two months of the arrears.
The sources further questioned the basis of the proposed protest, urging the NLC to clearly articulate its specific demands from the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
The development has sparked debate over the relevance of industrial action in the FCT, given the administration’s continued compliance with Wage Award payments amid broader challenges faced by workers in several states.