BREAKING NEWS, Politics
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The Nigerian Labour Congress insists on going on a one-day strike soon to protest harsh economic climate in the country
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Apr 25, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT |
THE Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, is insisting on going on a one-day nationwide strike soon despite the intervention of Senator Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, and other stakeholders to make it rescind its decision.
Ngige had on Friday, April 8, made a passionate appeal to the leadership of the NLC to shelve its planned strike over the new electricity tariff in the overall interest of the nation. He urged the union to be committed to a productive change and inculcate sanity in the conduct of government business.
He said: “The dispute over the increment in electricity tariff is right before the National Assembly and it is only right that, as law abiding social partners, all parties allow the National Assembly to arbitrate. The chairman of NLC is not here, but this occasion offers a crucial avenue for me to state government’s position on this hot button issue.”
However, the NLC, in a communiqué signed by Ayuba Wabba, its president, and Peter Ozo-Eson, secretary, said the prevailing circumstances in the country and the scorched-earth economic policies of the government warrant the national strike.
The communiqué issued at the end of the meeting of the NLC’s Central Working Committee, CWC, highlighted the union’s grievances to include the electricity tariff hike, fuel scarcity, the privatisation programme, casualisation of workers, outsourcing, and the non-payment of salaries and pensions, among others.
The NLC said the government’s dilly-dallying in addressing the national problems had worsened the economic situation in the country, leaving it with no option than to embark on a one-day nationwide warning strike to press home its demands.
This is why the CWC resolved that the leadership should work with Trade Union Congress, TUC, to organise a one-day nationwide rally and protest, and another one-day for a national solidarity rally with Kaduna workers in Kaduna, to protest the high-handedness of the government. In furtherance of this, it was also resolved that a joint emergency NEC meeting of TUC and NLC be convened.
The NLC also bemoaned the rise of outsourcing of jobs in the country, stating that “the increasing adoption of the neo-liberal policy of outsourcing by many companies and even agencies of government remains high. The CWC calls on its affiliate unions to spare no effort at unionising workers engaged by outsourcing agencies in order to ensure fair pay and good conditions of service.
“CWC also calls on the federal ministry of labour and employment which serves as the licensing agency of outsourcing firms to transparently develop criteria for licensing, monitoring and sanctioning the outsourcing firms in conjunction with the tripartite partners,” it said.
It should be recalled that the NLC had on Wednesday, April 6, said it would declare a one-day national warning strike over the refusal of the federal government to slash the electricity tariff. According to Wabba, the planned action was aimed at getting the relevant authorities to reverse the 45 percent tariff hike. The labour leader insisted that the tariff increase was “illegal, unfair, unjustifiable and an exploitation of the already exploited Nigerians.
“The privatisation of the power sector was done in bad faith and it has become obvious that the investors did not have the capacity to improve power generation and supply in the country. The CWC will agree on a day to embark on the strike, because several actions promised by the federal government to checkmate the tariff increment have not been implemented.”
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