From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, met on Monday with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, and the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NL), Joe Ajaero, to discuss averting the impending nationwide strike of workers, billed to commence on Wednesday.
The Congress had threatened to embark on a nationwide industrial action if the cash crunch, fuel scarcity and electricity tariff increase were not addressed.
According to a statement by the Labour ministry, Ngige in response to the strike threat by the NLC invited the leadership of the Congress and the CBN management to a meeting in his office to resolve their differences
Speaking at the meeting, The CBN Governor said when he received the letter from the Labour Ministry, he called the President of NLC to brief him on steps taken to alleviate the sufferings of the masses and equally made an appointment and had a discussion with the NLC president and had a fruitful discussion which resulted.
He noted that a large volume of funds was made available to the deposit money banks and they were directed to open their branches on Saturdays and Sundays and they complied under strict supervision by the CBN.
According to Emefiele, following the steps taken Nigerians have been enjoying their money.
Meanwhile, the NLC President, insisted that the Congress would meet with its members from states and Local Government Areas on Tuesday to decide whether to go ahead with its planned nationwide industrial action or not based on the reports it receives.
Although Ajaero said they no longer envisage any problem, since CBN has started sending cash to the banks and Nigerians were now accessing their money, he acknowledged that meetings have taken place in the spirit of good dialogue.
He, however, urged the CBN to improve on their services, regretting the information gap created in the implementation of the Naira Redesign.
He said: “NLC could not have stopped CBN from taking good decisions and implementing them in the interest of the nation. If stakeholders were invited and briefed on the policy, when the people complain, NLC would explain everything to them. But in this case, the CBN did it alone. Moreover, it is a wrong time for administering such a national policy.”
Making his opening remarks, Ngige refuted the allegation of the NLC that his Ministry did nothing about the matter.
He said on receiving the letter from NLC, he forwarded the same to the CBN Governor before travelling out of the country for an International Labour Organisation (ILO) Governing Board meeting and directed the Permanent Secretary and Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations Department to follow up.
He maintained that his Ministry took the necessary step by sending the letter to CBN Governor who received the letter and assured that action would be taken.
The Minister, however, assured all that whether the NLC is embarking on a dispute of right or a dispute of Interest, the dispute has been apprehended and can only result in more dialogue and not strike.