Ahead of Tuesday’s two-day nationwide warning strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) – its third since the removal of fuel subsidy in June – public schools, hospitals, seaports, and airports, among other public institutions, have expressed readiness to mobilise workers to down tools across the critical sectors.
Already, no fewer than 52 NLC affiliates across the country have stepped up mobilisation for total shutdown, directing their members to commence withdrawal of services over Federal Government’s failure to establish essential structures to address sufferings and hardship in the country.
Insisting that the warning strike would hold as scheduled without the drama of last-minute suspension, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the strike became necessary as a result of government’s deliberate neglect and disregard to engage relevant stakeholders through the channel of social dialogue.
He said the Federal government refused to engage and reach an agreement with Organised Labour on critical issues on the consequences of the hike in prices of petroleum, which has unleashed massive suffering on Nigerian workers and the masses.
Circulars on withdrawal of services from some of the affiliates, including the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), National Union of Banks, Insurance, and Financial Institutions (NUBIFIE), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), among others, urged all national, states and chapter executives to begin mobilisation in total compliance.
They said this was to dissuade the government from intimidatory tendencies towards the unions, as well as put measures in place to stop the deterioration of the nation’s economy and the masses’ suffering.
A notice signed by the Secretary-General of MWUN, Erazua Oniha, directed all members in the ports, jetties and terminals, as well as all oil and gas platforms nationwide to ensure active participation.
For NUBIFIE, its General Secretary, Mohammed Sheikh, said the directive was imperative to get the needed attention of the government and its moves in meddling into the affairs of unions.
Similarly, in the telecommunications sector, General Secretary of Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN), Okonu Abdullahi, said members would fully participate in the strike, saying: “We operate in a very sensitive sector. What will happen for now is that because it will be a warning strike, any fault that occurred within the two days will not be attended to.”
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, will face his first test when he leads a conciliation team to resolve the industrial dispute between the Federal Government and the Organised Labour. One of the grounds of the warning strike is the occupation of the headquarters of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) by security agencies.
A statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations Department of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, said the meeting will be held at the ministry’s conference room in Abuja.
At the end of its National Executive Council (NEC), which was held in Abuja on Thursday last week, NLC decried what it termed “a renewed onslaught against trade unions and its leadership by the state and its agents across Nigeria.”
The central labour body noted that the police, under the instruction of certain forces peddling the name of President Bola Tinubu, have invaded and illegally occupied the National Headquarters of the NURTW making it difficult for the union to discharge its responsibilities to its membership across the nation.
