The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have shed light on the factors that led to their decision to suspend the nationwide strike aimed at pressuring the Federal Government to reverse the recent 200 percent increase in petrol prices.
In a statement issued after an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) on Monday, NLC President Mr. Joe Ajaero and General Secretary Emma Ugboaja cited several reasons for shelving the planned industrial action. They highlighted the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the presidential elections, which is still being contested at the tribunal. They also emphasized the need to prioritize national stability and acknowledged the restraining order obtained by the Federal Government from the National Industrial Court (NIC).
However, the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting criticized the NIC for its frequent use of ex-parte injunctions in favor of the government against the interests of Nigerian workers. The statement noted that this practice defied the position of the Supreme Court regarding the use of such instruments.
The communiqué, signed by Ajaero and Ugboaja, recalled that the previous NEC session had ordered a nationwide withdrawal of services and mass protests in response to the petroleum price hike by the Federal Government. It also highlighted the government’s breach of the 2023 Appropriation Act. Nevertheless, the NLC expressed its commitment to upholding the rule of law and stated that it would not encourage lawlessness.
The communiqué read: “Considering the Federal Government’s court injunction restraining the congress from proceeding with the proposed nationwide strike, as ordered by the NEC session to begin on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, and recognizing the government’s willingness for continuous engagement and dialogue, as well as its promise to provide reasonable palliatives to mitigate the impact of its policies, some levels of understanding were reached.”
It further stated, “Taking into account the mood of the socio-political climate following the recent elections and the need to pursue national stability, the NEC session commends and applauds the diligence of the congress’ leadership in carrying out the assignment given to it by NEC. It demonstrated to the Federal Government the need to comply with the laws of the land, especially with regard to obedience to court rulings and its brazen disregard for the 2023 Appropriation Act.”
The NEC session expressed its support for the decision of the NLC leadership to suspend the proposed strike in compliance with the flawed rulings of the NIC. It also called for negotiations to continue freely, with the aim of reaching a final agreement during or after the negotiation round scheduled for June 19, 2023, with the Federal Government.
In a similar vein, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) stated that it agreed to suspend the strike because the government had agreed to all of its demands. Among the demands put forward by the TUC was the payment of a new minimum wage of N200,000.
TUC Secretary-General Nuhu Toro, in an interview, stated, “Sincerely, we went into the meetings or negotiations with the government, and they accepted all our demands. In that case, there was no need to proceed with any industrial action. The essence of an ultimatum is to get the government’s attention to present our demands, which we did. In any case, it is not over. We are meeting on June 19 to review the situation.”
It should be recalled that the NLC had previously condemned the federal government’s decision to withdraw the subsidy on petrol in a communiqué issued at the end of an emergency NEC meeting on Friday. The NLC deemed the action unlawful and emphasized that the 2023 Appropriation Act had made provisions for funding
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