Hardship: NLC, TUC insist on nationwide strike

Leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have told the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government that the 14-day nationwide strike notice remains sacrosanct.

At a meeting between the labour leaders and officials of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, headed by Nkeiruka Onyejeoch, the Minister of State for Labour, on Monday, the labour leaders said only the government could stop the planned strike by addressing the 15-point agreement reached on October 2, 2023.

One of the labour leaders at the meeting said that though the minister pleaded with the labour leaders to shelve the planned strike, stressing that the federal government was already addressing labour demands, the labour leaders were adamant.

“We categorically told the minister and her team that our ultimatum stands. We were emphatic that only the government can stop the strike by honouring the agreement we reached on October 2, 2023.

“We cannot say the meeting was a deadlock because it has opened avenue for discussion. If the government had been opened to discussions, probably, we would not have issued the strike notice. As it is, we are not going back on the ultimatum, not with the mass suffering and poverty across the country. Well, the responsibility lies with government,” he said.

Recall that leaders of NLC and TUC had on February 8, issued a 14 day strike notice to the Federal Government effective February 9, expressing disgust that despite organised labour’s efforts at ensuring industrial peace, the government seemed unperturbed over the mass suffering and hardship across the country.