Labour Warns FG, Says There’ll Be No Further Warning Before Next Strike

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC on Tuesday, warned that there would be no further warning before the next strike in 30 days if the federal government does not keep to its current agreement with NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC.

Speaking on ARISE News Channel, the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, stated that enough time had been given to the President Bola Tinubu administration to take appropriate action to cushion the suffering in the country and avoidable deaths among the masses occasioned by the harsh economy, but the government continued to ignore the labour union.

You will recall that the NLC had suspended its planned indefinite strike on Monday night. It said the industrial action was prompted by mass suffering following the removal of fuel subsidy, and crisis in foreign exchange market and its ripple effect on Nigerian workers.

The suspension of the planned nationwide strike followed the signing of a 15-point Memorandum of Understanding between the two main labour centres and the federal government.

Ajaero disclosed that NLC initially decided to return to the negotiating table after shunning all talks with the government due to pressure from many Nigerians, who also raised issues about the likely negative effect the proposed strike would have on the underprivileged and vulnerable citizens.

Ajaero noted that by now, if the political will actually existed, the Compressed Natural Gas, CNG buses should have been ready, while salary awards and the promised cash transfer ought to have been implemented.

He also explained that the unions had insisted that copies of the MoU signed between it and the federal government should be deposited at the courts so that neither of the parties could renege on the agreement without judicial consequences.

He said labour rejected the N25, 000 announced by Tinubu before N35,000 was eventually approved across board, and pointed out that the government assured that the wage award would exist until a minimum wage law was signed into law in about six months.