Uncertainty continues to hover over the nation’s workforce several hours after the Federal Government’s prolonged meeting with the organized labour.
In a last-minute effort to prevent the nationwide strike planned by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on October 3, the Federal Government called for a meeting that commenced at 2 pm on Sunday.
The meeting took place at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Previously, the government had called for a similar meeting three days earlier, which was boycotted by the labour unions.
However, on Sunday, representatives of the two leading workers’ unions met with the Federal Government delegation led by Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Among those in attendance were Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Simon Lalong, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the Minister of State, Labour, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Doris Uzoka-Anite, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, the Head of Service of the Federation, and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA).
The labour delegation was led by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, Deputy President of TUC, Dr Tommy Etim Okon, NLC General Secretary, Emma Ugboaja, TUC General Secretary, Nuhu Toro, and others.
Governor Abdulrazak Abdulrahman of Kwara State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State participated virtually in the meeting.
Prior to the meeting, President Tinubu had announced a 25% increase in salary for junior civil servants for a period of six months during a nationwide broadcast to mark the country’s 63rd independence anniversary.
However, at the Sunday meeting, the pay was raised to N35,000 and extended to all categories of federal employees.
A statement signed by Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mallam Mohammed Idris, confirmed after the meeting that “the Federal Government has announced N35,000 only as a provisional wage increment for all treasury-paid federal government workers for six months following consultation with President Tinubu.
“The Federal Government is committed to fast-tracking the provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to ease public transportation difficulties associated with the removal of the PMS subsidy.
“The Federal Government commits to the provision of funds for micro and small-scale enterprises.
“VAT on diesel will be waived for the next 6 months.
“The Federal Government will commence payment of N75,000 to 15 million households at N25,000 per month, for a three-month period from October-December 2023.”
The minister emphasized in the statement the need to shelve the planned strike, stating that “the issues in dispute can only be resolved when workers are at work and not when they are on strike.”
Furthermore, he stated that “Labour Unions argued for higher wage award and the Federal Government Team promised to present Labour’s request to President Bola Tinubu for further consideration.
“A sub-committee will be constituted to work out the details of implementation of all items for consideration regarding government interventions to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.
“The lingering matter of the Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Lagos State needs to be addressed urgently, and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who participated virtually, pledged to resolve the matter.
“NLC and TUC will consider the offers by the Federal Government with a view to suspending the planned strike to allow for further consultations on the implementation of the resolutions above.”
NLC Chairman, Ajaero, did not provide a definitive stand on the union’s position after the meeting.
He stated, “I don’t have much to say than the Chief of Staff has said. We’ve been meeting and we’ve looked at almost all the issues, all the promissory notes from the government and we’ll look at how to translate them to reality and to be workable.
“Then we’re going to take those promises to our organs, of course, you know these people here cannot just wake up and review and call off action.”
It remains unclear what the next course of action will be for the organized labour, especially as the state chapters of the unions feel excluded in the resolutions reached during the meeting.
A state chairman of the NLC expressed concerns about the fate of state workers, stating, “We expected an agreement that would be all-encompassing, not a scenario where they only factored federal employees.
“As we speak, some states are yet to even implement the N30,000 minimum wage while many have not done consequential adjustment; so where do we go from here?
“Any compromise towards calling off the strike should be holistic; otherwise, it makes no sense for those of us at the state level,” he stated.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the labour unions will hold a meeting at 11 am today, Monday, to make a definitive decision regarding the strike.
Another chapter chairman confirmed the scheduled meeting and stated, “As of yesterday (Sunday) when the information came to our platform, I just made a comment just like other colleagues, different state chairmen. And Mr President said we are meeting at 11 am this morning (Monday), that we should not discuss the outcome of the meeting on the platform, that he is going to brief us properly at 11 am.
“So we should consider all that we have been seeing and hearing as hearsay until we have discussed with him and the leadership of the NLC through our NEC meeting at 11 am this morning.
“Whatever I may be telling you now is still based on social media information. It is always good for me to talk from the right points, especially when we have our NEC meeting and have agreed on basic issues.
“So when we might have concluded the meeting I will be in a better shape with information on what transpired in that meeting (NLC and FG) yesterday, or what the NLC will do with regards to the interest of the States and Local Governments.”
