Joe Ajaero, President, Nigeria Labour Congress, has stated that contrary to the belief that the NLC walked out on the meeting with the government, it was the government that stayed away.
He said, “We went for the meeting, and apart from the secretary and her office staff, nobody from the government was around; we waited for hours and had to leave.”
In an interview with ARISE NEWS, Joe Ajaero stated that the demands NLC has are the demands of every Nigerian. “It is the demand of implementing everything we agreed on: the alternative to PMS, the issue of palliatives, mass transit issues, and wage awards. Those governors speaking on the minimum wage are displaying gross ignorance because no state governor discusses the minimum wage”.
“We have to be patient with the government, and the chief of staff is now proposing Monday, August 1st, for another sit-down.”
He said after all the decisions were taken with the federal government, none of the committees put in place to tackle the issues were inaugurated, and no meetings were held until the NLC came up with the decision to rally.
Joe Ajaero said that while the NLC is giving the government time, they are inflicting more injuries. He also said,
“If we are still talking about N520 in fuel prices today and we are giving time, it will make more sense. But they have made it clear that it is beyond the president and up to market forces.”
Ajaero said the federal government keeps breaching its agreements with the NLC, and that the government was not negotiating in good faith.
“Agreements should not be signed for the fun of it. They should respect the sanctity of agreements.”
Furthermore, he asked, “On what parameters are the states taking decisions for monetary palliatives? “The states that are taking these decisions are very dictatorial; it is a case of giving take-it-or-leave-it handouts. Ten thousand naira the state governments are adding to salaries—is that the percentage of inflation created as of today? Why will a state give a mere token of N10,000?”
He concluded by saying, “The state governors have not at any time taken seriously the issue of worker welfare.”
Catherine Amaga
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