Subsidy removal: FG, labour meet today to avert looming strike

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BY MAYOWA SAMUEL

The Federal Government and the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress will meet today to resolve issues over the looming industrial action.

The Director of Information, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, disclosed the meeting between the two parties in a statement on Sunday.

It read, “The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, has again invited the Nigerian Labour Congress for another meeting over its planned indefinite strike.

“The minister, who directed the Department of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations to convene a meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress for Monday, September 18, 2023, said it was important that the unions sit with the government to resolve all pending matters to avert further disruption to the economy.

“According to the Minister, the administration of President Bola Tinubu will always engage organised labour and respond to its concerns after due consultation and negotiations in order to guarantee industrial harmony, which is critical to the attainment of the Renewed Hope Agenda.”

A source confirmed that the NLC would be meeting with the Federal Government on Monday and the congress would be in attendance.

“We will be in attendance tomorrow to listen to what the Federal Government will say,” the source said.

The latest invitation by the Federal Government is coming days after the NLC ended its two-day warning strike after shunning an earlier meeting with the Federal Government to embark on the strike over increasing hardship and suffering across the country caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

The NLC had given notice of a two-day warning strike to protest the excruciating mass suffering and impoverishment experienced around the country, threatening a total and indefinite shutdown of the economy within 14 working days or 21 days after the warning strike if the government did not take steps to address the hardship being experienced across the country.