On Sunday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) insisted on going on a nationwide, indefinite strike.
On Arise News, NLC President Joe Ajaero made this statement and mentioned that the union might go on strike by Tuesday night at midnight.
The federal government had more than enough time, in Ajaero’s opinion, to end the conflict and answer the concerns of the labor movement, but instead chose not to do so.
The NLC has criticized the Federal Government for not offering ways to mitigate the effects of the elimination of gasoline subsidies.
In the interview, Ajaero stated that everyone in Nigeria would have anticipated by now a tangible outcome from the negotiations between the federal government and labor on palliatives.
Ajaero responded that the prior warning strike had achieved roughly 80% success despite attempts to sabotage it when asked if he was certain that the planned indefinite strike would be successful.
He declared, “Nigerians should anticipate a total impact from the comprehensive, indefinite strike.
First, if the government had been able to put first things first, there should have been a justification for requesting palliatives and even salary awards.
Every reasonable person should have recognized that there would be consequences if actions had been taken to end subsidy, and we should have equally discussed the consequences.
But after a little while, the subsidy was taken away, and we said, “No, get it back to the way it was so we can talk. They replied, “No, ask for painkillers and a pay raise.” The exact things they had instructed us to ask for were what we requested, but they are unable to comply with our requests, and they have left the bargaining table.We are unsure about what to do next. We announced our intention to demonstrate, did so, and were guaranteed a response. Nothing happened following that. We issued notice of an impending warning strike, and when it arrived, nothing happened.
“We provided a second 21-day notice, which expired on Friday. I’m not sure how much time the labor minister is requesting. Last Monday, the Minister of Labor and Employment called a meeting, which we attended.
Ajaero charged that the federal government was attempting to sabotage the strike, demonize the NLC leadership, and sow discord among the unions.
He continued by saying that if the time and effort had been invested in finding a solution, it would have been discovered and the issue would have been resolved.
According to NLC, the labor movement’s goal is to aid the underprivileged.
The NLC president also addressed the worries of the Manufacturers Association (MAN) and Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) on the strike’s detrimental impact on businesses and the country’s economy.
“NECA is our social partner, but regrettably, the current leadership communicates with us through a third party,” he stated. NECA can’t be playing to the crowd because they haven’t written to us and instead have requested us to explain the problems.At this time, NECA can no longer play with every employee in the private sector.
Ajaero asserted that NECA was wrong to claim that the strike would have an impact on the economy at a time when it had already been completely devastated.
Workers aren’t showing up for work, and even state governments are increasingly limiting the number of days that employees can work. Therefore, what is the difference if a state government can order workers to skip work for two days and then workers go on strike for two days? Are not the same number of man-hours being lost?
Ajaero claimed that anytime a conflict developed, NECA ignored the avenues of communication with labor.
The inference is that NECA is obligated to adopt it if we receive a wage now, unless what is happening is not impacting them, or unless NECA wants to continue to play the slave game. They probably aren’t ready to do that, but I doubt NECA made that comment.
Ajaero responded to MAN’s worry by saying, “I don’t know if anything is still being created given the state of affairs in the nation. I’m unsure of what is being produced and sold given the rising expense of energy.
“This is the concern we must all address, along with the cost of energy, to allow them to manufacture very well, because if you manufacture at a higher cost without considering the impact on consumers, who are primarily workers who will no longer purchase these products due to lack of purchasing power, you run the risk of losing their business.
“I don’t believe that MAN has equally tried to figure out how to fix this problem; they haven’t voiced their displeasure over the high cost of electricity, and they don’t even understand how difficult it is for workers to get to work, which is really significant.
For instance, if I was paying myself N20 to get to work and now I’m paying myself N100, but you, as my employer, haven’t increased my transportation allowance and then you tell me I have to work, that’s slavery.
In response to claims that the government was planning to split organized labor, Ajaero asserted that the government was powerless to do so.
If the government was attempting to divide the ranks of organized labor, according to him, such a tactic would be doomed from the start.
According to Ajaero, “What unites us is the people, our wage, and the poverty in the land.”
He claimed that while the TUC may have chosen to wait a little longer, the NLC, the union representing the lowest-paid workers who are facing the most hardships, would rather that the issue be resolved right away.
He claimed that the TUC and NLC were in agreement over the issue of pay and other topics on the table.
No matter the means of transportation used to reach the destination—whether a car or an airplane—we all agreed on it, Ajaero said.