The Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have suspended their planned industrial strike scheduled to take off on Wednesday.
This happened after a dialogue with the federal government on Monday night.
The meeting resulted in the signing of a documented agreement between the two labour unions and the federal government.
The document, obtained by FIJ, showed that the labour unions agreed to shelve their intended action following an agreement that the government would constitute some committees to look into the contentious issues.
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Resolution of engagement between the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Federal Government to resolve the issues associated with the removal of subsidy on premium motor spirit (petrol) on June 5, 2023.
Following the engagements between the federal government, TUC and the NLC, with the intervention of the Speaker, House of Representatives, to resolve the disputes that arose from the withdrawal of subsidy on PMS, the following resolutions were reached.
1 The federal government, the TUC and the NLC to establish a joint committee to review the proposal for any wage increase or award and establish a framework and timeline for implementation.
2. The federal government, the TUC and the NLC to review World Bank-financed cash transfer scheme and propose inclusion of low-income earners in the program.
3. The federal government, the TUC and the NLC to revive the CNG conversion program earlier agreed with the labour centres in 2021 and work out detailed implementation and timing.
4. The labour centres and the federal government to review issues hindering effective delivery in the education sector and propose solutions for implementation.
5. The labour centres and the federal government to review and establish the framework for completion of the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries.
6. The federal government to provide a framework for the maintenance of roads and expansion of rail networks across the country.
7. All other demands submitted by the TUC to the federal government will be assessed by the joint committee.
Consequently, the parties agreed as follows:
A. The NLC to suspend the notice of strike forthwith to enable further consultations.
B. The TUC and the NLC to continue the ongoing engagements with the federal government and secure closure on the resolutions above.
C. The labour centres and the federal government to meet on June 19, 2023, to agree on an implementation framework.
Festus Osifo, the TUC president; and Joseph Ajaero, the NLC president; were parts of the unions’ representatives who signed the agreement, while Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, endorsed the communique on behalf of the federal government.
The unions’ grouse with the government emanated from the removal of petrol subsidies, which has sparked fears in the nation.
