Nigeria Labour Congress Kaduna State Council as well as Textile Workers Union have protested against the alleged plans by the northern governors to sell off the moribund Kaduna Textile Limited.
While marking the International Day of Decent Work today (Thursday), the labour unionists demanding the payment of a backlog of salaries and other financial entitlements of workers.
KTL which was one of the legacies of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello was established in 1957 and commenced operations in 1959.
Addressing the protesting members at the gate of KTL, Kaduna, the State NLC Chairman, Comrade Ayuba Magaji Suleiman said since the factory was shut down in 2002, the staff were yet to receive their entitlements and salaries.
He said it was wrong for the governors to contemplate selling the 64-year old moribund textile industry without addressing the outstanding staff salaries which the industrial court gave judgment in 2005 for the settlement of the 6000 laid-off workers, amounting to N600 million.
“We consider it as a wrong decision to sell Sardauna’s legacy, instead bring it back to life, revive the textile industry to give jobs to unemployed people in the society.
Although some of the workers are dead, they have next of kins and family members to collect their entitlements”. Comrade Suleiman said.
Some of the placards displayed by the protesting Labour members carried inscriptions like, “Northern governors reopen KTL and all closed factories in the North and create jobs”, “Sustain the legacy of Sardauna, KTL”, “Workers’ Rights are Human Rights”.
Reporting by Adamu Yusuf; editing by Muzha Kucha