The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has started a two-day warning strike, having declined a meeting with the Federal Government.
This strike is in response to the increasing suffering caused by the removal of fuel subsidies, as well as the hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, warns that the strike will worsen the situation for Nigerians and calls on the NLC to reconsider.
The NLC had previously given notice of this two-day warning strike as a protest against widespread suffering and impoverishment in the country. They threaten a complete shutdown of the economy within 14 working days if their concerns are not addressed.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, explains that the NLC’s National Executive Council has resolved to embark on this indefinite shutdown to address the mass suffering and impoverishment.
Despite the scheduled meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, sources within the NLC leadership indicate that the strike will proceed.
It’s reported that a media briefing by Minister Lalong, in which he criticized labour leaders, led to the NLC leaders avoiding the meeting.
One of the NLC leaders expressed frustration, stating that the minister’s alleged outburst shortly before the scheduled meeting reinforced the NLC’s determination to proceed with the strike, as resolved by the National Executive Council.
His words:
“We were scheduled to meet the Minister of Labour and Employment later today (yesterday), precisely by 3 pm but a few hours before the meeting, the minister called a media briefing where he castigated us and threatened us among other uncomplimentary words.
“Not that the meeting would have stopped the strike, but we intended to attend the meeting in the spirit of social dialogue. But as you are aware, the Minister of Labour, before the scheduled meeting, held a media briefing castigating and threatening us.
‘’You do not expect us to attend a meeting when we had been warned of a possible arrest.
We thank the minister for putting us on notice of their plan. So, the right thing to do is to keep away from such meetings and avoid any possible arrest.
“What the minister had done was nothing short of industrial dictatorship and naked blackmail. The Federal Government had already decided on the proposed meeting, the minister was kind enough to hold a briefing ahead of the meeting to disclose part of the government’s decision.
‘’Well, like I said earlier, the strike goes ahead as planned. After Wednesday, we will determine what next steps to follow. The NEC’s communiqué was loud enough. We cannot continue as if we are living in a different country from our political leaders and their cronies.
‘’You cannot continue to beat us and say we should not cry. Everywhere you go in every part of the country; people are complaining of hardship and suffering without concrete efforts by the government to lessen our pains. Instead, the government is unleashing more policies to send us to untimely death.”
