JUST IN: Abuja environmental workers suspend strike, reopen cemeteries

Workers of Abuja Environmental Protection Board have suspended their strike.

The workers have also reopened government-owned cemeteries shut to press home their demands.

The workers had on Tuesday begun a warning strike over the non-implementation of a new salary structure for them.

They said several efforts including issuing an ultimatum to the administration to address the issue yielded no result.

In a telephone interview with our correspondent on Thursday, the Chairman, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees in AEPB, Muktar Bala, said the union reopened the cemeteries based on the promise by the administration to work on their demands.

He added that based on the promise, the union had also suspended its warning strike to give the administration the benefit of the doubt.

“As part of moves to press home our demands, we shut public cemeteries in the FCT on Wednesday. But we have reopened them as a result of calls from various quarters even though this reopening is temporary. If after three days our demands are not met, we would give them one week and if nothing comes out we shut them.

“There was an agreement on Wednesday, they have agreed to implement the new salary structure, that is why we are giving them that time to allow them time to fulfill their promises. From tomorrow, our members have been directed to go to work.“