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…Blackout Looms As Electricity Workers Join Planned Action
…FG, TUC Meeting On Fuel Subsidy Crisis Deadlocked
…Stakeholders Meet Again Tomorrow As NLC Shun Meeting
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said it is not going back on its proposed industrial action on Wednesday, unless the Federal Government, and by extension the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), does the needful by returning to the status quo.
NLC insisted on the position in a statement by Benson Upah, Head of Information and Public Affairs on Sunday.
The workers body was reacting to a story in a national newspaper on Sunday, when it used the opportunity to clarify its stand.
It described the lead story on the front page of ThisDay of Sunday, June 4, 2023, entitled, ‘NLC Divided as North, South-West Chapters May Shun Planned Strike’, as laughable and desperate attempt by enemies of the people to polarise Nigeria Labour Congress along ethnic or regional lines on an issue with a national spread.
According to Upah, this scenario only plays in their imagination as Nigeria Labour Congress continues to be the biggest pan-Nigerian organisation united by a common vision/mission and shared national values.
“On the looming strike action, we want to assure that all the affiliate unions of the congress stand together with an unshakeable resolve to prosecute, come Wednesday, except the NNPC and government do the needful.
“Whereas, primordial sentiments such as religion, region or ethnicity may be refuge for some, at the Nigeria Labour Congress they have no place. What counts for us are issues such as the mindless and criminal increase in the pump price of PMS whose burden will be borne by the already impoverished communities of the poor across Nigeria,” Labour stated.
NLC said the burden of this malevolent policy will not be borne by other segments of the country to the exclusion of the North or South-West. Hence, there is no reason for these regions to back out of the strike.
“We do not know from where ThisDay got their story. However, if this is their way of making up for the gaps in their relationship with the new entities in power, we would say, it is rather excessive!” The labour union noted.
Blackout Looms As Electricity Workers Join NLC Scheduled Strike
Meanwhile, nationwide blackout looms as National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has instructed its members to cease their services across the country from Wednesday following the Federal Government’s abrupt removal of fuel subsidy.
In a notice signed by the Acting General Secretary, Dominic Igwebike, the NUEE urged its members to comply with the directive and initiate the work stoppage from the early hours of June 7.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his inaugural address on Monday, declared the end of the petroleum subsidy regime, deeming it unsustainable.
In response to this announcement, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) directed its outlets to sell fuel at a significantly increased price range of N480 to N570 per litre, representing a nearly 200 percent surge from the initial price below N200.
On Friday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) declared its intention to organise a nationwide protest on Wednesday, June 7, if the NNPCL refused to revert to the previous price regime in the oil sector. The Nigerian Union of Journalists also threatened to participate in the strike action.
In a letter to its members on Sunday, the NUEE explained that its decision was a result of the NLC emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, held on June 2 at the Labour House in Abuja, to address the sudden removal of fuel subsidy, which was causing significant hardships for Nigerians and contributing to increased inflation in the economy.
The statement directed all national, state, and chapter executives to mobilise their members in full compliance with the directive, with the withdrawal of services nationwide commencing from 00.00 hours on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
“To this effect, all national, state and chapter executives are requested to start the mobilisation of our members in total compliance with this directive,” the statement said.
“Please note that withdrawal of services nationwide commences from 0.00 hours of Wednesday, June 7, 2023,” the statement read in part.
FG, TUC Meeting On Fuel Subsidy Removal Crisis Deadlocked
Again, the meeting by the Federal Government and the Trade Union Congress on Sunday to deliberate on the crisis thrown up by the fuel subsidy removal ended on an inconclusive note, as all the stakeholders are to reconvene on tomorrow.
However, Dele Alake, who spoke on behalf of the government side on issues that were deliberated upon at the meeting, that lasted over five hours inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, hinted that the new administration under Bola Ahmed Tinubu is mulling a further increase of the national minimum wage to enable workers meet current realities.
Alake also hinted that government was seriously considering tax waivers for Nigerians but was not specific on which category of Nigerians.
He said government stakeholders received the demands made by TUC in good faith and would sit with President Bola Tinubu to consider them one after the other and make compromises where necessary.
The meeting which held at the Conference Room of the Chief of Staff had the executive members of the TUC, led by its President, Festus Osifo, in attendance.
Those on government side included the former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress and ex-governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole; former Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lagos State, Dele Alake; Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele; newly appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; Senator James Falake, among others.
The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress was conspicuously absent at the meeting and no reason was given for their absence.
Alake said, “As you all know, we had this reconvened meeting today as we promised you few days ago when we had the initial meeting with the labour movement.
“We said we were going to reconvene today to keep the engagement on in order to diffuse the tension in the land as a result of the withdrawal of subsidy, which is a reality.
“Now, we are very happy to announce to Nigerians that this engagement has been very productive. The TUC that attended today’s meeting presented a list of demands and those demands we have studied and we are going to present to Mr. President, for his consideration. But those demands we can announce to Nigerians that a lot of the items on the list, are not impracticable.
“What we need to do is to study the numbers very well. Then, we have asked the TUC to also give us a leeway to consult very exhaustively and reconvene on Tuesday to actually look at the numbers, viability, and practicability of all the items that have been presented to us.
“Now, most important and top priority on the list which the government is also looking at very seriously and the president has announced before, is the issue of the minimum wage which the labour movement has demanded is the consequential impact of this removal of subsidy.
“So, government is to look at that and Mr. President is most likely going to constitute a tripartite committee. That is a committee of Federal Government, including the state and then the organised labour and the private sector.
“This is a tripartite arrangement, it will be a committee that will study all the dynamics of a wage increase in percentages, the numbers and the categories that will be affected.
“So, by Tuesday when we come back to reconvene, to meet with the TUC again, we should have very concrete items to present to the world. But the most important thing for today is that we are making appreciable progress with the labour”.
Asked to list other demands beyond the minimum wage presented by the TUC, Alake responded, saying, “It is a list but we are not going to be listing all of them now. The most important is the minimum wage, that is increase of minimum wage. Because, when this thing is removed, the argument of labour is that there is an immediate impact on the workers, on the purchasing power because price of fuel has gone up.
“So, that will necessarily reduce the purchasing power of the average worker. So, the next thing of immediate consequence is to increase the purchasing power of the worker. So that to me and to all of us on this side is the top most priority on the list.
“There are other things like the tax holidays which some categories of workers will be beneficiaries. But the most important is the minimum wage”.
Asked to give reasons why the NLC was not present at the negotiations, he said efforts have been made to reach them without success.
“We are making efforts to reach NLC. We all agreed that we are going to meet here but again, in this game there are dynamics, sometime they could be meeting with their own executive and not able to meet with us, or they could want to postpone or they have not actually articulated their list of demands as the TUC. But we cannot second guess why they are not here. But efforts are being made to reach them, we are not isolating them at all”, he said.
Also asked if the government’s team that met with TUC were able to convince them to shelve the strike.
He said it came up for deliberation hence the reason the meeting was reconvened for tomorrow which is an appreciable progress.
On whether they touched on reverting to status quo, as demanded by labour, again Alake responded in the affirmative, saying, “Of course, we did. We touched on that, everybody looked at the practicability of that, the viability and otherwise. Now, the issue is that we will close all of those ones on Tuesday when we reconvene. Concrete decisions will be taken about that and then we will reach logical conclusions.”
Corroborating Alake, Festus Osifo of TUC said they were optimistic that the government will respond favourably to their lengthy demands.
According to him, “The demands are so long, they are so many, part of it is the demand for a (review) of the minimum wage and we stated that for us, quite apt that the minimum wage today is not a living wage, as we all know. The value of the minimum wage since it was negotiated has plummeted to a very abysmal level, as it is today.
“Because they are going back to Mr. President, we also think that we should also give them that benefit of doubt because the things we presented to them the last time, they did not also reveal it before the press so it is also quite apt for them to go back, maybe when we meet on Tuesday, we can dissect them one after the other and be much more specific.”
Daily Independent
