FCT Labour Dispute Deepens as TUC Breaks Ranks with NLC Over Strike
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has directed its members to report to work, distancing itself from an indefinite strike called by the FCT Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
In a statement issued on Thursday, the TUC said the NLC’s directive had been issued without consultation with its council or affiliated unions.
According to the statement, an NLC communiqué dated October 6, 2026, directed public- and private-sector workers in the FCT to begin an indefinite strike on Wednesday, October 7, over a dispute between the FCT Administration and the Nigeria Union of Teachers.
The TUC said it had neither participated in the meeting that produced the directive nor endorsed the decision to embark on industrial action.
“We took no part in the meeting that produced it, and we did not take part in the decision to call a strike. Accordingly, the TUC FCT is not a party to the said industrial action,” the council stated.
It directed its affiliated unions and members to continue their normal activities.
“All TUC affiliate unions and members in the FCT should go about their normal duties and businesses and report to work as usual,” it said.
The council also urged members to report any attempt to compel them to participate in the strike.
“Members should not be intimidated or coerced into joining any action that the TUC has not sanctioned. Any such incident should be reported to the TUC FCT Secretariat without delay,” the statement added.
Affiliate union leaders were instructed to disregard directives to establish enforcement committees unless such instructions came from the TUC FCT leadership.
The council urged members to remain calm, law-abiding and vigilant, adding that any further guidance would come from its leadership if the situation changed.
Expressing concern for teachers, other workers and children, the TUC called for consultation and the use of established industrial relations channels to resolve the dispute.
“We remain open to that approach, so that our children’s access to education and a bright future is not disrupted,” it said.
