The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Tuesday said it did not agree to participate in the two-week warning strike initiated by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) two weeks ago.
It would be recalled that the NLC President, Joe Ajaero on Monday argued that the TUC could not back out of an industrial action that it did not call.
However, the TUC President Festus Osifo, rejected the notion that it had shared any intention to go ahead with the strike, saying that a union is expected to reach out to the other to discuss strategies before announcing a strike.
“In that plan, there are a lot of things that are looked at. You define your clear-cut strategy; you define the timing. You define how you’re going to isolate the downtrodden Nigerians. All these things are defined before both parties will now come and announce a strike action,” the TUC president said.
“But in this case, I can authoritatively tell you that TUC was never contacted in any way. It was the same way Nigerians saw it in the media that there was a warning strike on so-and-so day. So, when we saw it, we were amazed.”
The TUC President Festus Osifo briefing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, after a closed-door meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, noted that the Union was tired of holding endless meetings and gave the government one week to act on its demands or risk an industrial action.
“The Honourable Minister gave us the brief on what they have done, that he has met with the president, that he has presented to him the issues regarding wage award and some of the issues released around CNG.’’
“ He has presented some of the issues released around low income earners being exempted from taxation and that after looking at them, the president also called their team to look at what they have been doing.’’
“The position was that by next week when the president comes back there should be categorical pronouncement.’’
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