A meeting Sunday night between organised labour and the leadership of the National Assembly to try to find a middle ground and prevent the proposed nationwide strike by labour, ended in a stalemate, with Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) insisting they would go ahead with the strike Monday, while negotiations on their demands could continue.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, told journalists in Abuja that efforts by the National Assembly leadership to convince the labour unions to suspend the strike had failed.
Akpabio noted with concern that organised labour’s action would paralyse the economy and bring more hardship to Nigerians.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had on April 3 approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers in Band A classification, from N66 to N225 per kilowatt-hour (kwh).
The tariff hike attracted public outcry and calls for its reversal.
Organised labour reacted by giving NERC and the federal government an ultimatum of May 31 to reverse the electricity tariff hike.
The labour unions had also given a May 31 ultimatum to the federal government to finalise the new national minimum wage fixing process for workers.
In the course of negotiations with labour, the federal government proposed, incrementally, monthly minimum wage of N48,000, N54,000, and, most recently, N60,000.
But NLC and TUC rejected all the proposed amounts and insisted on N615,500, citing the high cost of living.
Addressing journalists in Abuja after the latest meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly, which lasted several hours, Osifo said the two labour centres – NLC and TUC – had presented their positions.
He also said the labour movement had received the pleas from the National Assembly leadership to call off the strike, but such request was beyond the mandate of the labour negotiating team.
“We have met with the leadership of the National Assembly and the issues regarding minimum wage negotiations were laid bare by by the government side and organised labour,” Osifo said.
According to him, “There was an appeal from the senate president for us to call off the industrial action tonight, but on our part, we said that we have heard him but it is not possible for us to sit here and call off any industrial action because there are conditions precedent given to us by our National Executive Council.
“We would have been happier if this evening, we had a great understanding that by tomorrow morning we sign off the issues of minimum wage.
“As at the last meeting, we were very close to signing the new national minimum wage. If the figures were right, it is just to prepare report and sign. So, it is not something that is that lengthy anymore.
“But we have listened to them, we will take all their plea to our organs and we would have an organs meeting, taking all they have promised and pleas they made to our organs.
“For now, we don’t have the powers to call off the strike, so the industrial action will continue while we meet with respective organs as soon possible to lay bare what government has proposed.”
Addressing journalists, too, Akpabio said efforts by the National Assembly leadership to convince the labour unions to suspend the strike had failed.
He regretted the economic effect of such breakdown in talks.
Akpabio said, “We also know that it’s not just a question of strike, the hospitals will be closed and most poor people will die.
“Those who are even on oxygen will die. Those in need of medical services will die. Goods and services will not move freely and productivity will reduce drastically.
“The living standard of Nigerians will also be impaired. Hence, in the last four hours, we have been making appeals, and we are still appealing to the leadership of the NLC and the TUC to quickly return to the negotiating table with government.
“This is with a view to finding a lasting solution on this minimum wage issue. So we thank you. Without going into more details, I believe we’ve had very positive meeting.
“We’ve heard from both sides and we are happy and satisfied that actions will be taken on both sides.
“I appeal that the strike be suspended and negotiations commence in the interest of the Nigerian economy and the interest of all Nigerian students.”
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, also said the meeting agreed to prevail on the federal government to review the N35,000 wage award to federal government workers while negotiations on the minimum wage continued.
Speaking to journalists, also, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammad Idris, said the strike would worsen the hardship currently being experienced by Nigerians.
Idris wondered why organised labour refused the option of collecting the N35,000 wage award pending the conclusion of the minimum wage negotiation.
He stated, “You remember that when we signed the agreement with labour in October of last year, it was agreed that until the new wage regime comes into being, wage award of 35,000 for federally paid workers will continue.
“That is the position of government. The federal government will continue to pay its workers the wage award that was started last year until a new wage regime is instituted.”
The minister added, “Now to make further comments about what has transpired today.
“You know that we’ve been indoors here with leadership of both the NLC, the Trade Union Congress, and their affiliate bodies to find a common ground so that labour will not go on strike, as they wanted to do tomorrow.
“Strike is not an option at this point. And we believe that the organised labour will see reason with the federal government, the National Assembly and everybody to call off the strike in the interest of Nigeria.
“We know that they had given this warning. Of course, it was a surprise to us that on Friday this came about, but notwithstanding, we have continued to engage labour.
“We want to appeal to them once again, like the senate president said. And we know, and we do believe that they will see words of reasoning from the leadership of the National Assembly.
“They can’t come to the National Assembly and say, you know, they will not listen to the leadership. If they are having problems with the executive, the senate president has said he is going to wade in, he is going to talk to the president.”
Idris said the National Assembly leadership would talk to the president to secure an agreement by the federal and state governments, as well as the organised private sector to pay N60,000 monthly as minimum wage.
He said, “They will come back to the federal government and, in turn, we expect that labour will see reason and call off the strike. We said earlier that paying this amount that labour has asked for is like paying a cumulative of N9.5 trillion to only 1.2 million Nigerians.
“It’s a country of over 200 million people and others also deserve other services of government. We have roads to fix, we have hospitals to build, we have education system to fix.
“The federal government is very sensitive to the demand of labour, but we also call on labour to see reason, to see reason and toe the part of the federal government. We know that they are going to heed the call that the leadership of the National Assembly has made to them.
“We do believe and we sincerely hope that no one, no one is interested in having a strike, an industrial action at this point.”
In attendance at the meeting were Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; Head of Federal Civil Service, Folashade Yemi-Esan; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun: and Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu.
Others were Minister of Labour and Productivity, Nkiruka Onyejeocha; Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi; Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, and other principal officers of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Alex Enumah, Sunday Aborisade and Chinedu Eze
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