NewsNigeriaPoliticsNLC, TUC suspends nationwide strike after meeting with FG

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The Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, have suspended their planned nationwide strike earlier scheduled for tomorrow.

The decision followed a meeting between the leadership of the labour union and the federal government at the Presidential Villa on Monday night.

The NLC, in a statement last Friday, announced a boycott of services nationwide from Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in protest against the sudden removal of petrol subsidy by President Bola Tinubu which has resulted in an upsurge in the price of premium motor spirit, PMS, otherwise known as fuel, from N195 per litre to over N500 nationwide.

The NLC argued that “it was unlawful for the federal government to have announced the withdrawal of the subsidy on PMS.”

Other arguments are that “the 2023 Appropriation Act made provisions for the funding of the subsidy regime on PMS till the end of June 2023,” and that “it is unfair for the government to knowingly take action that will inflict pains on the populace and workers without putting adequate safeguards in place.”

Similarly, the TUC protested “the unilateral decision of the Nigerian government to remove the subsidy” and demanded that the government should revert to the status quo ante.

However, less than 48 hours before the commencement of the strike, representatives of the federal government met with the president of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, and the President of the TUC, Festus Osifo as well as other executive members of the unions to address their grievances over the subsidy removal.

The federal government team at the meeting were the newly appointed Chief of Staff to the President and the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; and a former Edo Governor and Senator-elect, Comrade Adams Oshiomhol.

Others were the Group Chief Executive Officer, GCEO, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour Labour and Employment, Kachollom Daju.

By the end of the meeting, the NLC and TUC agreed to suspend the strike while discussion with the FG continues on June 19 for both parties to agree on the most effective way to implement the removal of the petrol subsidy and cushion its effects.

The aforementioned is contained in a document shared by Hon. Gbajabiamila at the end of the meeting.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE; Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG; the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU; and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, PASAN, had directed their members to comply with the labour unions’ planned industrial action.

Other NLC-affiliated unions that have stood in solidarity with the labour unions are the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, NANNM; Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MWUM; Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ; and the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE.

Others include the Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education, Nigeria, SSUCOEN; the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers, NUCECFWW; and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN.

By Ezinwanne Onwuka (Senior Reporter)

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