Oct 3 strike action: Pressure mounts as NEC, Reps, others beg Labour to shelve plans
…Nigeria cannot withstand another mass action — Reps
Pressure may be mounting on the organised labour as both governmental and political bodies seeking to talk out the major unions, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), from plans to embark on an indefinite strike set for Tuesday, October 03, 2023, have heightened efforts with various approaches.
The organised labour was on Thursday overwhelmed with pleas from political and government bodies at the instance to convince the unions from embarking on a nationwide industrial action, which they argued would not benefit the Country.
The National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday urged the organised labour to reconsider its decision to embark on the planned nationwide strike set for next week Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
Addressing State House Correspondents after its 136th meeting, Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang said, “Council looked at the implications of the strike for the economy and the nation and thus urge members to continue to engage with the leadership of their respective states and to appeal to them to shelve the action and continue on the path of dialogue with the Federal Government.”
…Reps beg organised labour, appeal for dialogue
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has on its appeal to the organised labour, implored leadership of the unions to consider dialogue in a bid to address the matters of dispute, against embarking on the indefinite strike.
The Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, appealing to the NLC and TUC leaders in a statement he signed on Thursday, said the Country’s economy cannot withstand the intending mass action of organised labour.
Calling on the union leaders to dialogue with the Federal Government, he said, “Let me also use this opportunity to appeal to the Organised Labour not to succumb to agents of destabilisation who want to pull us back. The issue of palliatives and better welfare for all citizens is paramount before the Asiwaju government.
“Our nation can not withstand another mass action. We are trying to build not destroy. The Labour should, therefore, give dialogue a chance and at least be patient with this administration. It is still early days.”
The lawmaker, who said the removal of fuel subsidy by the President was in the best interest of the country, noted that fuel subsidy had been a part of the nation since the 1970s, and had made a few richer.
He said that available figures showed that the Buhari administration paid a subsidy of over N11.4trillion, more than what the government spent on education, health, and infrastructure during the period under review.
He acknowledged that President Tinubu’s decision to end the regime has come with hardship, but said Nigerians will celebrate in the long run.
According to him, fuel subsidy constitutes 50 percent of the nation’s problem and its termination will usher the country to her glorious era in history.
“President Tinubu must be commended for taking the bold step to save the future of our nation. Fuel subsidy was no longer attainable.
“It is on record that about N40.1billion is spent daily to subsidize every liter of petrol consumed in Nigeria by at least N600. It means the government spends about N1.24 trillion on fuel subsidies monthly.
“The country is in massive debt and would need more money to subsidize fuel. According to the World Bank, the government is projected to achieve fiscal savings of approximately two trillion naira ($2.6 billion) in 2023, equivalent to 0.9% of GDP. These savings are expected to reach over 11 trillion naira ($14.3billion) by the end of 2025.
“This will be invested in healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Indeed, the advantages of the removal of subsidy would not just come up immediately. It is not possible because the economy is not strong. We don’t have money to start implementing measures that will ameliorate the removal of the subsidy.
“However, we must look beyond the present. The future of our great nation is at stake. I want to commend President Tinubu for this brave decision. In a matter of time, Nigerians will smile,” he said.
…APC group begs Labour
Among the stream of appeals, a support group of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday appealed to the leadership of the organised labour to reconsider their resolve on the planned nationwide strike in the interest of the Country.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, National Coordinator of the National Progressive Hub, Bukie Okangbe, pleaded with the union leaders to give the Federal Government the benefit of doubt in restructuring the economic framework of the country.
“As a support group of the APC, we are pleading with our labour leaders to reconsider their stand on the planned indefinite strike so as to continue their engagement with the government. It has been proven overtime that instead of positive results, strike action in Nigeria has always yielded negative impacts on not only the economy but also on the welfare of the citizens. We must consider the possible negative effects of the strike on sensitive sectors like health, security, education among others.
“We understand the labour leaders have already threatened to go on a nationwide indefinite strike over the fuel subsidy removal starting from the 3rd of October, 2023. We believe that they can shelve this planned strike action and allow for a continued engagement with the federal government on the issue. The National Progressive Hub is confident that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is highly committed to addressing the issues and concerns raised by labour leaders regarding the fuel subsidy removal. As a progressive and listening leader, he has already approved the sum of N5bn to each state as palliative to ease the burden of the subsidy removal.
“The President, upon removal of the fuel subsidy, immediately constituted a committee on the upward review of the minimum wage. It is expected that a new minimum wage would be announced soon by the federal government. Tinubu has also been engaging with international community’s at every opportunity to making sure that they increase their foreign investment in Nigeria as a country with high economic prospect.
“Of course, some of these international engagements have started yielding results as some foreign investors have already indicated interest to invest billions of dollars in Nigeria’s economy in different,” the group said.
Recall the NLC and TUC had jointly on Tuesday, September 26, declared the resolve to begin an indefinite strike on Tuesday, October 3, in protest against what has been described as anti-people policies by the new President Bola Tinubu led Federal Government, particularly over the hardship that has trailed the removal of subsidy payment on premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol.
Suspense further built up over the planned action as the leadership of the Labour Party (LP) on Wednesday threw its weight of support behind the planned industrial action of the unions, saying the presidency has been insensitive to the plight of Nigerian workers.
The organised Labour has threatened to ground activities nationwide from October 3 following the failure of the government to successfully implement policies to alleviate the sufferings of the masses after the removal of fuel subsidy.
“It’s going to be a total shutdown, until the government meets the demand of Nigerian workers, and in fact Nigerian masses,” the union leaders affirmed in a joint statement.
They said, “The Federal Government has refused to meaningfully engage and reach agreements with organised labour on critical issues of the consequences of the unfortunate hike in the price of petrol which has unleashed massive suffering on Nigeria workers and masses.”
After the 21-day ultimatum given by the NLC lapsed last week, the NLC National President, Joe Ajaero, had lamented that none of the demands put before the Federal Government was addressed.
Among other things, the NLC and the TUC are asking for wage awards, implementation of palliatives, tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers and a review of the minimum wage.
In a statement on Wednesday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh titled ‘Workers strike: Labour Party identifies with Nigerian workers’ the Labour Party bemoaned that Nigerian workers have shown enough patience and understanding.
While charging supporters of the party to stock up on food, the party warned that the leadership of LP will support any legitimate means to demand better welfare for Nigerian workers.
Recall NewsDirect had reported how that the meeting held, barely two weeks, between the Federal Government and the NLC ended in deadlock without clear direction on cancellation of the strike.
The declaration of the indefinite strike by NLC is trailing a warning strike which held two days across the nation, on Tuesday, September 05 and Wednesday, September 06.
Barely a week after leading the two-day nationwide warning strike, the NLC again threatened to embark on an indefinite strike should the Federal Government fail to meet its demands at the end of a 21-day ultimatum which expired last week.
According to the NLC, the proposed strike was necessary following the failure of the Federal Government to provide palliatives to assuage the hardship of Nigerians as a result of the fuel subsidy removal.
The NLC which had on September 01, 2023 handed down a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government over the delay in sharing of palliatives, had said it might be compelled to embark on an indefinite labour action if appropriate responses from the government were not taken.
