October 02, (THEWILL) – Organised labour under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), have suspended the planned nationwide strike scheduled for Tuesday, October 3.
Director General of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NTGTEA), disclosed this in a statement signed on Monday evening, by the General Secretary of the Union, Ali Baba.
The statement titled, “SUSPENSION OF INDUSTRIAL ACTION BY NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC)”, reads in part: “We refer to our earlier circular dated September 28, 2023, on the indefinite nationwide strike action as directed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) effective Tuesday, 3rd October, 2023.
“We are pleased to inform you that the planned industrial action has been suspended by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) after its emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting today, Monday October 2nd, 2023.
“This follows the reported progress from the ongoing negotiation between the government and the organised Labour represented by the Ngeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress.
The NLC and the TUC, at a joint press conference held in Abuja on Tuesday, had declared an indefinite nationwide strike from October 3, following Federal Government’s failure to address the hardship inflicted on Nigerians by the removal of fuel subsidy.
The Unions and the Federal Government met on Sunday, October 1st at the State House in Abuja, where a number of concessions were made.
In a statement on Sunday, Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, said the “NLC and TUC will consider the offers by the Federal Government to suspend the planned strike to allow for further consultations on the implementation of the resolutions above.”
As part of the resolutions from the meeting, the Federal Government agreed that all treasury-paid workers should get an N35,000 provisional wage increment for the next six months.
In addition, Value-added Tax on diesel will be waived for the next 6 months while the Federal Government will fast-tract provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to ease public transportation difficulties associated with the removal of the PMS subsidy.
The Government also agreed to provide funds for micro and small-scale enterprises, as well as payment of N75,000 to 15 million households at N25,000 per month, for three months from October-December 2023.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NLC and TUC, on Monday, held separate meetings to consider the offers before the rescheduled meeting.
At a meeting which ended on Monday night, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, labour and the Federal Government finally reached an agreement.
A memorandum of understanding signed by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja; as well as the TUC President, Festus Osifo, and Secretary General, Nuhu Toro, agreed to suspend the planned nationwide strike for 30 days.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong; Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Dr Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; and Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, signed on behalf of the Federal Government.
Titled “MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING REACHED BETWEEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA AND THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC) AND TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF NIGERIA (TUC) AS A RESULT OF DISPUTE ARISING FROM WITHDRAWAL OF SUBSIDY ON THE PRICE OF PREMIUM MOTOR SPIRIT (PMS) ON MONDAY, THE 2ND DAY OF OCTOBER, 2023”, reads:
“Arising from the withdrawal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the Federal Government and the resultant increase in the price of the commodity, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) issued a strike notice which had elapsed and they were poised to embark on a strike billed to commence on Tuesday, the 3rd of October, 2023.
“Consequently, a meeting was called by the Federal Government to avert the strike and after much discussion, the following agreements were reached:
1. The Federal Government grants a wage award of N35,000 (thirty-five thousand Naira) only to all Federal Government workers beginning from the month of September pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.
2. A minimum wage committee shall be inaugurated within one month from the date of this agreement.
3. Federal Government suspends collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) on Diesel for six months beginning from October, 2023.
4 Federal Government accepts to vote N100 billion for the provision of high capacity CNG buses for mass transit in Nigeria. Provisions are also being made for initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits to kick start an auto gas conversion programme, whilst work is ongoing on state-of-the-art CNG stations nationwide. The rollout aims to commence by November with pilots across 10 campuses nationwide.
5. The Federal Government plans to implement various tax incentive measures for private sector and the general public.
6. On the leadership crises rocking the NURTW and the purported proscription of RTEAN, the Federal Government commits to handling Labour matters in line with relevant ILO Conventions and Nigerian Labour Acts. A resolution of the ongoing impasse is expected by or before October 13.
7.The issue of outstanding Salaries and Wages of Tertiary Education workers in Federal-owned educational institutions is being referred to Ministry of Labour and Employment for further engagement.
8. The Federal Government commits to pay N25,000 per month for three months starting from October, 2023 to 15 million households, including vulnerable pensioners.
9. The Federal Government will increase its initiatives on subsidized distribution of fertilizers to farmers across the country.
10 The Federal Government should urge State Government through the National Economic Council and Governors Forum to implement wage award for their workers. Similar consideration should also be given to local government and private sector workers.
11. The Federal Government commits to the provision of funds as announced by the President on the 1st of August broadcast to the Nation for Micro and Small Scale Enterprises. The MSMEs beneficiaries should commit to the principle of decent jobs.
12. A joint visitation will be made to the refineries to ascertain their rehabilitation status.
13. All parties commit to henceforth abide by the dictates of Social dialogue in all our future engagements.
14. The NLC and TUC accept to suspend for 30 days the planned Indefinite Nationwide strike scheduled to begin, Tuesday, the 3rd of October, 2023.
15. This Memorandum shall be filed with the relevant Court of competent jurisdiction within one (1) week as consent judgment by the Federal Government.”
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