BY VICTOR BUORO – The Minister of Labour and Employment Simon Bako Lalong has praised the Trade Union Congress (TUC) leadership for its openness and commitment to dialogue for greater industrial harmony in the country.
He said the Federal Government was appreciative that the Congress has remained committed to the Nigerian project and are
Lalong stated this during an interface with the TUC leadership, the second in two weeks to brief them on the government’s efforts in addressing their grievances arising from the fuel subsidy removal.
The Minister, accompanied by the Minister of State Hon. Nkeiruka Onyeajeocha, said following their last meeting, some of the issues raised by the Labour have already been tabled before the President and appealed to the TUC to exercise more patience.
He said before jetting out to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the President was fully briefed and gave further directives on the implementation of issues put before him when he personally met with the labour leaders.
Before going into a closed-door session, the Minister had specially thanked the TUC for honouring the invitation to the briefing
In his response, the TUC President, Comrade Festus Osifo, while appreciating the Minister’s efforts, said there has to be more action than promises because workers are getting more impatient due to hardship occasioned by the removal of subsidy.
According to him, the workers are facing enormous pressures that are making life very difficult which makes the leadership of TUC have sleepless nights.
However, he expressed the hopes that in the next two weeks, the President would have done everything possible to arrive at positive conclusions to soothe the workers’ frayed nerves and douse the tension as well as threat to withdraw their services.
After the meeting, the TUC described the discussions as fruitful and hoped that the government would live up to its promises and responsibility for ensuring the welfare of workers and Nigerians in general.
On the government’s side, the Minister said there would be continuous engagement with the technical team from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) on proposed Ministerial derivables for the actualisation of the eight (8) Presidential Priorities and focus areas.
