The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), on Friday, failed to honour a meeting called by the Federal Government as part of efforts to avert the planned nationwide strike from October 3, 2023 by the organised labour.
The two labour organisations said that the Federal Government notice and invitation came rather late as they already had scheduled engagements outside Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The meeting which was scheduled for 12pm on Friday, at Aso Villa, Conference Room of the Office of the Chief of Staff to Mr. President, was later shifted to evening, to allow NLC and TUC to get in touch with their leadership that were outside Abuja.
The Federal Government’s invitation letter dated September 29, 2023 and signed on behalf of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, by the Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, Emmanuel Igbinosun was titled; “Impending labour union strike: invitation to a meeting”.
In the letter, Igbinosun said that he was directed to invite the leadership of the Trade Union Congress Nigeria (TUC) for a meeting with the Chief of Staff to Mr. President on the above subject, scheduled as follows: Date: Friday, September 29, 2023; Time: 12 noon. Venue: Aso Villa, Conference Room of the Office of the Chief of Staff to Mr. President.
However, the two labour Unions in their response through a letter by the NLC General Secretary, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja and his TUC counterpart, Mr. Nuhu Toro requested for a new date next week.
The NLC said in its reply; “We wish to express our sincere regrets for our inability to attend the proposed meeting between us and the Federal Government, scheduled for today the 29th Day of September due to already scheduled engagements our officials have outside Abuja.
“Regrettably, the short notice provided for this meeting has posed significant logistical challenges for the majority of our leadership, rendering their participation unfeasible at this time.
“In light of this, and in the interest of ensuring that any discussions held are representative of the NLC’s and TUC’s collective stance, we find it imperative to request the rescheduling of the meeting.
“We trust that this request for a rescheduled meeting will be taken into consideration, and we look forward to your understanding in this matter.”
The NLC and TUC, had on September 26, 2023 declared an indefinite strike starting from October 3, 2023, saying that the planned nationwide strike is to force the government to address its alleged insensitivity to the plights of Nigerians as a result of the removal of petrol subsidy and continuous demonstration of unwillingness and complete lack of initiative.
The NLC and TUC represented by their Presidents, Comrade Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo respectively, announced this shortly after their separate Emergency National Executive Council (NEC), meetings in Abuja on Tuesday.
