In light of the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused the federal government’s bargaining committee of failing to meet the demands of Nigerian workers.
The committee, led by President Bola Tinubu’s chief of staff Femi Gbajabiamila, is criticized for allegedly failing to address the growing concerns of organized labor.
The labor congress claimed that Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, who is leading the government’s negotiating team, refused to meet with them, which delayed resolving the employees’ complaints.
The national president of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, informed the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and other key senatorial officials of this at their Tuesday meeting at the National Assembly.
Days prior to this conference, NLC members protested the extreme hardships caused by the elimination of the fuel subsidy by entering the National Assembly compound.
To restore economic stability and lessen the suffering of Nigerian residents, the demonstrators requested an immediate reversal of the subsidy reduction.
Ali Ndume, the chief whip of the Senate, appealed for a seven-day deadline so that the Senate might intervene and mediate the impasse between labor and the administration.
However, emotions are still high as Ajaero remarked that Gbajabiamila’s refusal to allow the labor leaders to discuss the issues is causing a delay in the fulfillment of the requests of Nigerian workers.
“The problem with the formed committee is our problem. The committee appears to be incompetent. Since the time of Ikaite, as SGF, Kingibe, Pius Ayim, and Boss Mustapha, we as labor have stopped negotiating with and engaging with the government, Ajaero declared.
“The issues have been postponed because the president’s chief of staff, who is extremely busy, never called to negotiate or lead negotiations. Despite the president’s vow to reform the government’s engagement mechanism in response to our protest, another meeting has not yet been scheduled.
The labor leader further lamented the lack of a meeting by the committee Tinubu constituted to examine minimum wage increases.
Ajaero requested the Senate to get involved in pressuring the federal administration to give the 8,000 palliatives to their proper recipients as soon as possible.
However, in order to make sure that palliatives get to the most vulnerable homes, he urged for the development of a new data system.
Akpabio promised that the Senate would intervene to make sure the federal government complies with the requests of the Nigerian workforce in response to the labor leader’s worries.
