The meeting between the representatives of the government led by President Bola Tinubu and labour leaders, regarding the 30-day ultimatum to meet the demands of labour unions as contained in a signed Memorandum of Understanding, has been postponed. The purpose of the meeting with the government is to agree on the milestones and demands yet to be met, and the reasons why. This will ensure that all parties agree before any action is taken.
According to a top official of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), who spoke to The PUNCH, the meeting will now hold next Tuesday, as the Federal Government requested a postponement. The official also mentioned that the organised labour does not have confidence in the Minister of Labour attending the meeting.
It was reported that the organised labour suspended the last planned strike action and gave the Federal Government 30 days to meet their demands. At the expiration of the ultimatum, an organ meeting would be called to assess what the Federal Government has done. If the organs believe that the government has not done anything substantial and not in line with the agreement signed, they will give fresh directives on how to handle the situation without giving any further notice of industrial action.
While the organised labour demands are out in the open, the government should inform organised labour and Nigerians which of the demands they have met so far. However, the Federal Government has not met many labour demands, according to the NLC official.
The next meeting will assess the progress made so far and discuss the remaining demands that have not been met. During this meeting, the organised labour will engage in discussions with the Federal Government regarding the outstanding demands.