Staff of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) on Friday suspended their three-day warning strike following the intervention of the FCT minister, Mohmmed Bello.
Some workers, under the auspices of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), locked up Gudu cemetery in the nation’s capital on Thursday. They, however, reopened it following pressure from the Presidency.
AUPCTRE is a member of AEPB. The board said the FCT Administration failed to implement the new salary structures for the board after the expiration of several ultimatums.
The strike, which commenced on Wednesday, was suspended after three days, due to the intervention of the minister.
Secretary of the union, Udeme Umanah, who spoke on behalf of the workers, told NAN that the minister and other authorities in the FCT Administration met with some union executives.
Umanah said that series of meetings were held during the period of the strike over the salary implementation.
“During the three-day strike, the national body of the union had a meeting with the minister, Permanent Secretary of the FCT, Adesola Olusade and other authorities in the FCT Administration.
“Meanwhile, when the strike commenced on August 16, 2022, the minister went to the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission and requested that letter submitted by the FCT administration on the salary structure should be responded.
“So, because of the minister’s persuasion, the commission forwarded a response of the letter which was dispatched to the minister.
“The minister, however, directed Olusade to act on the letter.
“The letter was moved to the Department of Human Resources, in the FCT administration to comply with the implementation of the salary structure,’’ he said.
Umanah said that the implementation would take effect from September with arrears payment from January 2020 to August 2022.
He thanked Bello and other authorities who intervened for the salary implementation, and appreciated the AEBP workers for their cooperation.
