…To resume talks June 19
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Adanna Nnamani and Okwe Obi, Abuja
Members of the organised Labour has agreed to suspend the planned strike over removal of fuel subsidy slated to begin tomorrow after hours of talks with a team of the Federal Government.
The labour team comprising the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress also agreed to set up joint committee to review the proposal for any wage increase or award and establish a framework and timeline for implementation.
Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, who read the resolution titled: Resolution of Engagement between the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Federal Government to resolve the issues associated with the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) on June 5, 2023, said the meeting would be reconvened on June 19.
It read: “Following the engagements between the Federal Government, TUC and the NLC, with the intervention of the Speaker, House of Representatives to resolve the disputes that arose from the withdrawal of subsidy on PMS the following resolutions were reached:
“The Federal Government, the TUC and the NLC to establish a joint committee to review the proposal for any wage increase or award and establish a framework and timeline for implementation.
“The Federal Government, the TUC and the NLC to review World Bank Financed Cash transfer scheme and propose inclusion of low-income earners in the program.
“The Federal Government, the TUC and the NLC to revive the CNG conversion program earlier agreed with Labor centers in 2021 and work out detailed implementation and timing.
“The Labour centers and the Federal Government to review issues hindering effective delivery in the education sector and propose solutions for implementation.
‘The Labour centers and the Federal Government to review and establish the framework for completion of the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries.
‘The Federal Government to provide a framework for the maintenance of roads and expansion of rail networks across the country.
“All other demands submitted by the TUC to the Federal Government will be assessed by the joint committee
“Consequently, the parties agreed follows:
‘The NLC to suspend the notice of strike forthwith to enable further consultations
“The TUC and the NLC to continue the ongoing engagements with the Federal Government and secure closure on the resolutions above
“The Labour Centers and the Federal Government to meet on June 19, 2023, to agree on an implementation framework.”
•TUC demands N200,000 minimum wage
However, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which attended the meeting, has presented a list of demands as conditions for the removal of fuel subsidy and hike in price of the product.
The TUC is demanding an increase of minimum wage from the current N30,000 to N200,000 before the end of June 2023 with consequential adjustment on Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), like feeding, transport, housing, etc.
It also demanded for tax holiday for employees both in government and private sectors that earn less than N200,000 or $500 monthly, whichever is higher, PMS allowance to be introduced for those earning between N200,000 to N500,000 or $500 to $1,200 whichever is higher, while the exchange rate for retailing PMS in the country must be kept within a limit of +- 2% for 10 years and where the fluctuation is more that two per cent, the minimum wage would automatically increase at the same rate.
The union said the Federal Government must also set up intervention fund where government would pay N10 per litre on all locally consumed PMS.
TUC added: “The primary purpose of this fund is to solve perennial and protracted national issues in education, health and housing. A governance structure that will include labour, civil society and government will be put in place to manage the implementation.”
Amongst other demands, TUC said the Federal Government should provide mass transit vehicles for all categories of the populace, while state governments should immediately set up a subsidized transportation system to reduce the pressure on workers and students, noting that the framework around this will be worked out.
It also called for immediate review of the National Health Insurance Scheme to cover more Nigerians and prevent out of stock of drugs. It said organised labour would like to visit the refineries currently undergoing rehabilitation to ascertain state of work and setting up timeline for its completion.
The statement read: “The president should direct whoever will be labour minister to immediately constitute the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC). This platform will be used by government, labour and employer to discuss issues and policies of government that may affect workers and all other mandate as specified in the law.”
It, however, called for provision of subsidy directly for food items, stating that the $800 million could be a first step, adding that the existing National Housing Fund (NHF) should be made accessible to genuine workers; the framework on this must be discussed and agreed.
On medium term, TUC demanded deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) across the country in line with the earlier promise made by government, adding that the framework and timeline will be developed and agreed by both parties.
Others on medium term is that Labour and government must design a framework that would be geared towards the reduction of cost of governance by 15n per cent in 2024 and 30 per cent by 2025.
It added: “A framework should be immediately put in place to maintain the road and expand the rail networks across the country. Government must design a framework for social housing policy for workers through Rent to Own System. The state of electricity in the country must be appraised and an action plan should be defined with time lines on how to get this fixed. A strong monitoring team comprising of all parties will be constituted.”
The demands jointly signed by TUC President, Festus Osifo and Secretary General, Nuhu Abba Toro said a representative of state governors would be party to the communique and all the governors must commit to implementing the new minimum wage.
Spokesman for the government’s delegation, Mr. Dele Alake, had told State House Correspondents after the meeting that most of the demands “are not impracticable” and they would be tabled before the President whose decisions would be reverted to labour leaders at the next round of negotiations today.
•14 groups say action deceptive
Meanwhile, the planned strike has continued to receive stiff resistance in some quarters.
The latest resistance came from the Niger Delta Youth Congress (NDYC), South South Movement for Good Governance (SSMG), Urhobo Progressive Vanguard (UPV), Niger Delta Women for Change (NDWC), Cross River Youth Democratic Front (CRYDF), and nine others groups that condemned the action of NLC and TUC.
In a statement jointly signed by NDYC National Coordinator, Israel Uwejeyan; SSMG National President, Raymond Oporomo; UPV President, Efemena Esamagu; NDWC Coordinator, Abigail Asibie; and CRYDF President, Julius Emaluji, the groups accused NLC and TUC of being deceptive.
They urged Nigerians to be vigilant and reject NLC’s attempts to drag them into a situation with uncertain outcomes.
“We urge Nigerians to be vigilant and reject the NLC’s attempts to drag them into a situation with uncertain outcomes. We urge our compatriots not to fall for the gimmicks employed by the NLC, who seem to be taking advantage of the suffering of the masses for their selfish negotiations. The NLC must first and foremost provide a comprehensive explanation regarding its absence during the preparation, presentation, defence, and passage of the budget by the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government and the 9th National Assembly, which did not include provisions for subsidy.
“It is disheartening to witness opportunistic actions being taken by the NLC leadership only when it suits their agenda, rather than consistently advocating for the welfare of Nigerians. We call on Nigerians to hold independent oil marketers accountable for the drastic deterioration of petroleum prices, we vehemently condemn these acts of extortion by the independent marketers who hiked pump prices as soon as the subsidy removal was announced by President Tinubu in order to sabotage the sincere efforts of the government.
“This inhumane act of wickedness and greed demonstrates a lack of regard for the already burdensome living conditions faced by the Nigerian people.Moreover, we are not ignorant of the fact that the removal of fuel subsidies has placed an additional financial burden on the Nigerian populace, particularly the most vulnerable segments of society.”
•Don’t down tools, Uzodimma begs
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma has appealed to the organizedlabour in the state not to join the national strike planned assuring that palliatives are underway for them.
The governor who spoke when he met some of the labour leaders, yesterday, said the state cannot afford to embark on a strike over the fuel subsidy removal because he was coming up with palliatives that would cushion the effects of the removal. He pledged to meet with the labour leaders soonest to discuss his plans and explore ways of expanding his pragmatic palliatives for workers.
He appealed to them to have compassion on the poor masses as they would suffer the consequences more should they embark on any strike .