Eventually, the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) yesterday avoided meeting with Labor and Employment Minister Simon Lalong, saying the government's move was intended to hinder his efforts to launch a two-day nationwide strike.
This is precisely the time when the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) gave President Tinubu a week to issue a clear statement on wages, tax exemptions and allowances for workers in the public sector, in order to ease the pain and suffering they have been passing through.
A senior NLC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters that the meeting scheduled for 3pm was ostracized by Labor at the last minute, because the Parliament believed the meeting was convened to thwart its efforts.
"There was no reason, we just decided to boycott the meeting. They should have understood this. Why are they waiting for us to announce action? We believe the meeting was convened to frustrate our efforts. Now is not the time to appeal; Now is the time to act, He said.
He continued that; what the Nigerian people are asking is for the government to review the agreement and implement it. either they appeal orally as leaders and show Nigerians what have been done too.
The government's call for insolvency? it does not ease the burden on Nigerians, he added.
The TUC said after a meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC), held on Sunday, that it had taken note of the government interventions that led to the approval of an amount of 5 billion naira per state as a temporary measure, but this total amount is largely insufficient to deduce suffering experienced by Nigerians.
He said the federal government must step up negotiations with unions on mitigations and alternatives, as previously promised, and deploy a comprehensive monitoring team to ensure the measures of palliative gets to the right people.
The Minister of Labor, at a press conference yesterday in Abuja, called on the NLC to suspend its warning strike. Lalong said the administration has taken steps to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal, and measures being taken by all three levels of government.
He said the call to suspend the strike was necessary to avoid the breakdown of social peace, which would inevitably deprive the government of some of the gains the government had made.
He said that while some policies are being planned and finalized, others are being implemented such as measures aimed at providing temporary relief to Nigerians in the coming weeks.
“The issue of the minimum wage review, as the President has promised, will also receive special attention to ensure that Nigerian workers are not affected by the current challenges.
"In the long term, President Tinubu's government will take measures to empower people, in creating jobs and prosperity routes" he said. He also promised that the dispute between the police and the leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) would be resolved immediately.He concluded.
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