The Bayelsa State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Monday said that it will continue its strike over non payment of salary since January 2016.

Gov. Seriake Dickson had on Sunday ordered the striking workers to resume work on Monday or be sacked.

Dickson, who said that the state had no funds due to dwindling revenue from the federation account, threatened that he would invoke the “no work no pay rule”, against Civil Servants who refused to go back to work.

“The strike is unpatriotic, it is politically motivated and uncalled for,  we have held several meetings with labour leaders and I have proposed many options to them including paying 50 per cent salary but they rejected it and chose to go on strike.

“We have drawn the line and we give them till Monday, any one that doesn’t show up should consider himself sacked, we shall send out a monitoring team, I will also go round myself,” Dickson said.

Mr John Ndiomu, Chairman of the NLC in the state said in Yenagoa on Monday that the strike, which commenced on May 19, would not be called-off until the government clear the backlog of salaries.

It will be recalled that the organised labour in Bayelsa embarked on strike over the non-payment of four months’ salary arrears of civil servants in the state.

“The strike is on it third day, and we’re still on it; it is true that the state government has started the payment for January alone but we will continue to stay at home until the union reaches a decision,” the chairman stated.

The state secretariat, public schools and banks have remained shut while soldiers have been at the gates of the secretariat.