NLC
The Presidency on Thursday in Abuja summoned the leadership of the
organised labour to an emergency meeting with a view to ending the
ongoing nationwide strike.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chief of Staff to
the President, Malam Abba Kyari, presided over the closed door meeting
with organised labour led by the President of the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba.
The NLC had on Wednesday directed all its members and affiliate
unions to commence a nationwide strike on Thursday following alleged
failure, of the Federal Government to reconvene the meeting of the
tripartite national minimum wage committee to enable it to conclude its
assignment.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige had on
Wednesday in Abuja also met with the organised labour and the meeting
ended in a deadlock.
The minister, however, told newsmen that the tripartite committee on national minimum wage would resume negotiations on Oct. 4.
“We are resuming precisely on Thursday, Oct. 4, and the meeting
can spill over to Oct, 5. All the processes have been put in place and
labour leaders know.
“They are now expected to communicate such to their organs. So we don’t have any need for a strike.’’
However, while fielding questions from State House correspondents
after the closed door meeting, the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba
Kyari, said the presidency wanted to know reasons for the industrial
action.
“We want to know what led to this strike, there is no position of government.
“All what we want to understand is why they have to go to
strike and they told me it is the process of arriving to a figure that
got stalled,’’ he said.
On his part, the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, stated that they
shared information with the Chief of Staff on the issues that led to the
commencement of the industrial action by the organised labour.
He revealed that the leadership of the organised labour would soon
meet and deliberate on the issues discussed at the meeting with a view
to call off the strike, and resume negotiation on the National Minimum
Wage which was stalled.
“The Chief of Staff tried to give us detail of government
position which we will have to go and convey to our members and then we
can revert back to him.
“This is how far we have gone but clearly I think we have tried
to share details of the information that pertain to the issue of the
National Minimum Wage and how the ongoing negotiation was stalled and
also the best way to get out of it.
“The government has given us their words which we will also go and communicate to our members and revert back to our members.
“The strike as you are aware is called by a larger organ until
we get their mandate before we can make any pronouncement on the strike.
“All the discussion we have had, we will communicate to our
members and therefore it is the outcome of our meeting with our members
that we will also communicate to government,’’ he said.
-NAN