Nationwide Strike To Go On As NASS’ Mediation Between FG, Organised Labour Deadlocked

In spite of last minutes efforts by the leadership of the National Assembly to halt the nationwide strike called by the Organised Labour, the National Leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Sunday resolved that they were going ahead with the strike.

The Organised Labour pointedly told the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives that they were not in a position to call-off the strike, stressing that only organs of the Unions in consultation with their National Executive Committees (NEC), can call for the suspension of the strike in accordance with the provisions of their constitution.

The Union leaders said that they were not demanding for money to build houses or buy cars but living wages for Nigerian workers.

They also demanded a reversal of what they described as the discriminatory and astronomical increase in electricity tariff that was carried out without due consultation with stakeholders as required by law.

The Organised Labour therefore gave the National Assembly Leadership a period of eight weeks to engage with stakeholders from the Executive arm of government in resolving the minimum wage and reversal of the increase in electricity tariff.

However, the leadership of the National Assembly said that the mediation meeting facilitated by President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives recorded significant milestone as it ended on a positive note.

The meeting which held late Sunday at the Senate wing of the National Assembly, was part of the efforts to forestall the effects of a nationwide strike action at this time.

At the meeting, stakeholders noted that the position of Organised Labour was valid given the general economic situation in the country and therefore agreed on the need for on-going negotiation to continue, allowing for continuous engagement on the issue of wages.

In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said that while addressing the legitimate concerns of Organised Labour which is imperative, we must be mindful that an unsustainable wage increase could trigger inflationary pressures and potentially lead to layoffs.

Akpabio said; “It is crucial that our approach balances the need for fair wages with the overall economic stability of the nation.”

Speaking in turn, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, said that one thing that this government and this country can do to eliminate corruption in the long-run is to embrace a ‘living wage,’ adding that there are no two ways about it.

He said; “But we should also be mindful that the issues of numerous decades cannot be repaired within one day. It will be a gradual process”.

The National Assembly mediation meeting resolved as follows;

“The Federal Government should be committed to the immediate implementation of all previous agreements with Labour as authorised by the President. The agreements include the recent Wage Award announced by President Bola Tinubu and the bonus implemented by Government as negotiated by the previous Administration (Amounting to N72,000).

“Government further committed to expediting the ongoing nationwide roll-out of conversion to LNG-operated vehicles and address all challenges relating to the supply chain to bring immediate succor on transportation to Nigerian workers.

“The leadership of the National Assembly was asked to engage and brief the President on the position of Labour and the need to consider a marginal increase in the interim, to accommodate the position of Labour.

“Organised Labour were also charged to deepen advocacy with State Governments and organised private sector to ensure viability and sustainability of the anticipated minimum wage increase”.