Subsidy Removal: Labour Proceeds with Strike Mobilization

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has confirmed its commitment to proceed with a two-day warning strike commencing tomorrow, citing a lack of awareness regarding any scheduled meeting with the Federal Government today.

A senior NLC official stated yesterday that, as of the latest information available, no invitation had been received from the government for a meeting. This industrial action has been instigated by state councils and industrial unions.

However, the Minister of Information and Orientation, Mohammed Idris Magaji, contradicted this by asserting that the Federal Government is currently engaged in discussions with Labor concerning the impending strike.

He mentioned that Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, had a meeting with NLC leadership on Saturday and expressed optimism that the strike might be averted.

Minister Magaji also emphasized the government’s commitment to appealing to Organized Labour. He highlighted the government’s efforts in providing relief through state governors and the Conditional Cash Transfer program.

The government’s stance is to distribute these relief measures through state governors, regardless of party affiliations, as the impact of subsidy removal is more acutely felt at the state level.

While appealing to Organized Labour to collaborate with the government to achieve positive economic reforms, Minister Magaji reiterated the government’s intent to continue engaging with labor to prevent the impending strike.

NLC, on the other hand, has clarified that its decision to initiate the two-day warning strike, as a precursor to an indefinite industrial action, is driven by mounting pressure from unions and state chapters. They argue that their members are enduring significant hardships due to the removal of fuel subsidies.

Additional factors contributing to the decision to strike include the Federal Government’s perceived failure to honor previous agreements with Organized Labour regarding the subsidy removal.

Reports suggest that the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of NLC, which includes elected national officials, senior secretariat staff, presidents, secretaries, treasurers of affiliate industrial unions, as well as chairpersons, secretaries, and treasurers of state councils, has been fraught with tension.

This is due to the revelation that none of the committees, including the main committee tasked with devising measures to alleviate the impact of subsidy removal, have convened since their establishment.