Strike: FG Have Till Friday To Meet Our Demands – NLC

The federal government has until Friday to comply with the conditions set forward by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), or else there could be more labour unrest.

This occurred when the government pleaded for more time to resolve the labour movement’s complaints.

The leadership of the labour movement, however, made it clear to the government during the Ministry of Labour and Employment and NLC meeting, which was resumed, that no one could accuse it of not giving the government more than enough time to fulfil its concerns.

Among the demands are wage awards, tax breaks and allowances for public sector employees, a decrease in the cost of governance, the provision of compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, the release of N70 billion in modalities for SMEs, the release of officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) from police custody, and a suspension of the occupation of police-backed intruders.

One of the NLC representatives at the meeting told Vanguard that, among other people, NLC President Joe Ajaero mentioned that the union’s requests would likely not be granted by the government before the 21-day deadline passed.

“Precisely, this Friday, September 22, is the end of our 21-day ultimatum. Recall that we gave you the deadline on September 1, 2023. Comrade Ajaero has thus made it plain that the government has till Friday to respond to our demands or face the possibility of further labour unrest.

“He cited the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, quagmire and asked that the Police and Federal government are called to order to give respite to the union. 

”The NURTW issue is within the purview of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, FMLE, which the ministry can immediately resolve.

“At the closed door meeting, after the recess, when the Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, who initiated the meeting, called on NLC to give the government more time to address our demands, Ajaero responded that nobody can accuse the congress of not giving the government reasonable time because we have given more than enough time to the government to act. 

“We have already given the administration a decent amount of time, so asking for more is unfair. Within the remaining days of the ultimatum, he pressed the minister to take quick action.

“He told the minister that the congress could not adjourn the meeting without accomplishing some of our goals. We won’t advise Nigerians to grant the administration a reasonable amount of time based on what we have.

“The administration must now fulfil our demands by Friday. In order to meet the demands of the moment after Friday, the NLC will take whatever industrial action it considers necessary,” the source stated.