Amidst the ongoing controversies following the removal of fuel subsidy, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was surprisingly absent as the Federal Government met with a section of the labour union on Sunday even as it looks set to move on with the planned industrial action.
However, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) at the reconvened meeting presented a list of demands in the aftermath of the petrol subsidy removal and hike in petrol price.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the demand includes an increase in minimum wage to cushion effects of the increase in petroleum prices, tax holiday for some categories of people as well as revert to status quo as negotiations continued.
While government side acknowledged the feasibility of the demands, they stated that they would be presented to President Bola Tinubu with immediate effect and assured that it is actively engaging with the umbrella union body, the NLC, which had recently announced a nationwide strike starting from Wednesday.
The NLC had insisted that government must revert to the previous petrol pump price.
NLC, in a statement signed by its President, Joseph Ajaero, last Wednesday, had said the new pricing template was vexatious and an ambush and warned that it may scuttle its ongoing dialogue with government.
‘This is an ambush and runs against the spirit and principles of Social Dialogue which remains the best platform available for the resolution of all the issues arising out of the petroleum down-stream sector.
“This negates the spirit of allowing the operation of the free market unless the government has as usual usurped, captured or become Market forces.
“It is, therefore, unacceptable and we seriously condemn it. Good faith negotiation is key to reaching agreement. What the government has done is like holding a gun to the head of Nigerian people and bring undue pressure on the leaders thus undermine the dialogue.”
At yesterday’s meeting, spokesman for the government’s delegation, Dele Alake, told State House Correspondents that most of the demands were not impracticable and would be tabled before the president whose decisions would be reverted to labour leaders at the next round of negotiations fixed for today.
Asked if the other demand by Labour that the new pump price of petrol be reversed pending conclusion of negotiations, Alake said the decision would likely be taken when the meet reconvene.
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On NLC’s absence, Alake said maybe it way unable to finalise with its NEC before the meeting.
Nonetheless, negotiations would continue with all labour unions and stakeholders, he said.
Alake told reporters: ‘We said we were going to reconvene today to keep the engagement on in order to diffuse the tension in the land as a result of the withdrawal of subsidy, which is a reality.
“Now, we are very happy to announced to Nigerians that this engagement has been very productive.’
On whether the team is also negotiating with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Alake said they were making efforts to reach the congress.
“No. We are not. but we are making efforts to reach NLC. We all agreed that we are going to meet here but again, in this game there are dynamics. Sometimes, they could be meeting with their own executives and not able to meet with us, or they could want to postpone or they have not actually articulated their list of demands as the TUC.
“But we cannot second guess why they are not here. But efforts are being made to reach them, we are not isolating them at all.”
On whether the meeting discussed the claim by one of Tinubu’s spokesmen, Bayo Onanuga’s claim that NLC was working for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the just-concluded elections, Peter Obi, Alake declared: ‘No not at all. It has no relevance to the discussion on the concrete terms of the welfare of the workers. Our discussion was majorly on the welfare of workers, how to cushion the impact of this subsidy removal on workers that’s all. Not on any political partisanship.’
TUC president, Festus Osifo, told journalists after the parley that while some progress has been made in the negotiations, the union would still brief its members ahead of today’s meeting.