The Federal Government has disagreed with the organised Labour on its threat to declare a nationwide strike in the next 14 days over the alleged failure of the government to implement the memorandum of understanding reached with the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress in October 2023.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, asked the unions to exercise restraint and allow the government to address their grievances.
He said, “We are calling on Labour to exercise patience. We will look at the grey area. Let them come and speak with us in the interest of our nation.
“We cannot afford to go on strike at this time. So we call on them and we are always to partner Labour for the progress and development of our country.”
Idris, however, declined to comment on whether the government would seek a court injunction to stop the strike.
In a statement signed by the leaders of the two labour unions, Joe Ajaero and Festus Usifo, the organised labour expressed sadness that despite the passage of time, “The majority of these crucial agreements remain unmet or negligibly addressed, indicating a blatant disregard for the principles of good faith, welfare and rights of Nigerian workers and Nigerians.”
The organised Labour said it was giving the Federal Government 14 days from February 9 to February 14, 2024, to fulfil its part of the MoU with the unions.
The labour unions said that the agreement reached with the Federal Government was focused on addressing the massive suffering and the general harsh socioeconomic consequences of “the ill-conceived and ill-executed IMF/World Bank-induced hike in the price of PMS and the devaluation of the naira.’’
