NLC, TUC shelve proposed strike over cash scarcity

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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have suspended their planned strike slated for Wednesday over the unavailability of naira notes.

The two Labour bodies said they would monitor the availability of cash in commercial banks for two weeks before deciding on the next line of action.

Presidents of NLC, Joe Ajaero and TUC Festus Osifo said this during a joint press conference on Tuesday in Abuja at the end of their National Executive Council meetings.

Ajaero said after receiving briefings from its State councils in the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, the NLC decided to defer the planned stay-at-home directive issued to workers last week.

He said the NLC would resume the planned protest if naira notes become unavailable to Nigerians by the end of the two weeks.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government earlier stated that the planned protest by the NLC had been arrested.

Recall that NLC gave the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum to cause the CBN and the commercial banks to end the cash scarcity, failure of which it warned of a nationwide protest and the picketing of the apex bank’s branches.

Speaking at the weekly Ministerial Briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team at the State House, Abuja, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige said dialogues, coordinated by his ministry, took place making the CBN take steps to remedy the situation.

The Minister, who was accompanied by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, and other senior officials of the Ministry, said as at the moment, the issue to be discussed by NLC in its National Executive Council meeting would no longer be issues of protest, which he said had already been apprehended.

“Now they have all answered our calls because we are the Chief Conciliators. In my opening remark, I said I’ve noticed that there’s already a dialogue going on and there’s also implementation and the Nigerian Labour Congress agreed that there was some thawing at the surface of the icing that was there.

“They said they will call up their National Executive Council meeting because the initial decision to give that ultimatum was given by this same Council. Members of the Council reside in the states and in the local governments so they will come up today, which is Tuesday, the 28th, to review the situation because much as it is, the important thing is that we have emphasised to them that we have apprehended this dispute.

“By Section 7:8 of Trade Dispute Act, once the Minister apprehends and starts conciliation on it, you maintain status quo ante bellum. So they have gone back now to review the situation. If they’re not satisfied with what they’re see, they will come back to me and I’ll invite the CBN again.

“But for now, the issue of discussion is no longer strike, the issue of discussion is implementation and how far it’s gone and how far it affects Nigerian workers and the general population.

“So that is it, the final decision will be done today by NEC and they will then do a resolution, of course, inform me and CBN what their resolution is. But like I said, we have apprehended and we are now conciliating,” he assured.

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