The planned strike by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over the pains caused Nigerians by petrol subsidy removal is uncalled for, the Federal Government and Trade Union Congress (TUC) said yesterday.
The government and the TUC warned that the two-day strike could erode the gains recorded ”on our course to securing a greater future for workers and citizens at large.”
NLC President Joe Ajaero on Friday after a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the labour centre, announced a two-day warning strike to hold today and tomorrow.
The Presidency cautioned against mixing Labour issues with politics.
Presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale, who spoke last night on a television programme, said: “Let’s understand that we should delineate between an organised Labour movement at large and the NLC as an entity.
“The TUC has come out to say that they don’t agree with the position of the NLC as it relates to this warning strike, because they were in the same room as the NLC with the federal Government.
“They were all involved, they know what was promised and they are of the belief that the Federal Government will live up to its bargain.
“The NLC has taken a different position. My final word on this is that on a week in which the Presidential Election Tribunal judgment is going to be rendered, where you have political gladiators, some of which were openly lobbied for by the NLC, for example, we are saying that Nigerians can see through political conspiracies and we are saying that it is in the interest of the organised Labour to protect their credibility by ensuring that they take their decisions not based on politics but on the basis of what they know to be best for the country.”
Labour and Employment Minister Simon Lalong and TUC President Festus Osifo also spoke during a meeting convened to stave off the strike.
The NLC did not attend the meeting but the TUC did.
The Nation yesterday exclusively reported that TUC would not be a part of the strike. This was confirmed by a communiqué of its Sunday meeting, made available yesterday.
It restated that the strike was premature given that talks between the government and labour unions were ongoing.
Before the meeting with TUC, Lalong said even though the government had yet to be notified about the strike as required by law, the NLC should reconsider its position since talks are ongoing.
The minister, however, appealed to the NLC leadership to suspend the warning strike.
He promised that the Bola Tinubu-led administration would not take labour and Nigerian workers for granted.
He said: “It has become pertinent to appeal to the leadership of the NLC to suspend its intended two-day warning strike, as such action would be detrimental to the gains already being recorded on our course to securing a greater future for Nigerian workers and citizens at large.
“Furthermore, I would request that the Comrade Leadership of the NLC gives this government some time to settle and address the issues on the ground holistically.
“It should be realised that the cabinet of this administration was only recently sworn in by Mr. President and all cabinet members have hit the ground running. Therefore, the issues raised by the leadership of the NLC are some issues that I and the Hon. Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Nkeiruka Onyejeocha) are being briefed upon.
“I use this opportunity to reassure Nigerian workers that this government would never take them for granted nor fail to appreciate their support and understanding. We shall continue to pursue policies aimed at massive employment generation in all sectors of the economy as well as look into immediate challenges that have emerged from the policies of the government. We cannot do this in an atmosphere devoid of industrial peace.”
Lalong told the participants that modalities for the implementation of tax exemptions, wage award and allowances to public sector workers would be completed in two weeks
He added that the conditions for accessing the N70 billion intervention fund for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises were being fine-tuned by the government.
“We are going to address those issues within the period of two weeks and come back for further discussion. Some of the issues we discussed are those that are very urgent. There are some that will require a long span of time. This was the basis of our discussion.
“We agreed that there should be no strike within the two-week period while we are doing our deliberations and working towards realising some of these objectives.”
TUC President Festus Osifo also said that urgent issues like the “implementation of palliatives; wage award; tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers and modalities for the SMEs intervention fund; among others were discussed .”
Osifo said: “In the palliatives that were rolled ou,t we have not seen anything put in place for federal workers. We need a wage award. The palliatives rolled out by the government are not far-reaching. We believe that the government can do much more.”
In the communiqué after its Sunday meeting, the TUC hailed some of the steps taken by the government to cushion the effects of subsidy removal.
But it urged the government to increase the amount provided for palliatives as the N5 billion given to each state was “grossly inadequate.”
The TUC also advised the government to deploy high-powered monitoring teams “to ensure that the palliatives get to the right people.
“We urge the government to do the needful to avoid a situation where the TUC, its affiliates and allies would be compelled to confront the government,” the congress added.
The TUC gave the Lagos State Government a two-week ultimatum to obey a court order, and dispense with the impasse with RTEAN or face a total shutdown effective 12 midnight of 18 September 2023.
Also yesterday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) Abdullahi Gumel called on the NLC to suspend the strike and embrace dialogue.
Gumel said embarking on strike would disrupt economic activities while setting the country backwards.
He noted that President Tinubu has demonstrated the capacity to lead and the political will to make strong and beneficial decisions during his 100 days in office.
The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating job racketeering in government agencies and the mismanagement of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) has adjourned its public hearing to Thursday as a result of the expectation that the two-day warning strike will hold.
Chairman of the committee Yusuf Adami Gagdi said the hearing was postponed to enable all Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) invited to make their presentations.
Yesterday, the NLC, it was learnt, intensified its mobilisation for the warning strike, which it said would be followed by 14 days later with a “total shutdown”.
The reasons listed by the NLC include: failure to address excruciating mass suffering; refusal to engage and reach agreement with Labour on the consequences of the hike in petrol prices; deliberate neglect and disregard to engage relevant stakeholders through social dialogue channel; the occupation of NURTW National Headquarters in Abuja and the threatening of poor masses in Abuja with demolition of their properties by FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
