Following the 14-day ultimatum issued by the organised labour over the economic situation of the country, the Federal Government has appealed for them to maintain restraint, saying that implementation of their demands were underway.
The Organised Labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Thursday, issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to address the hardship and rising cost of living in the nation.
But speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, said the government acknowledged the challenges faced by Nigerians and had demonstrated sincerity in its on-going negotiations with the trade unions.
According to the minister, some of the demands of the labour bodies have been achieved, while others were still in the pipeline.
She said: “For example, the N35, 000 wage award agreed upon between the government and organised labour is currently being implemented. However, we have received complaints regarding non-implementation in some public sector organisations as well as the private sector. The ministry is actively addressing these issues to ensure compliance across all sectors. “Two days ago, I mediated between the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCEFWW), Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA), the Federation of Construction Industries (FOCI) (Employers). Consequently, the parties have signed an agreement to resolve the issue.
“The office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) has intervened in the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) matter with the Lagos State Government. As a result, up to 80 per cent of the agreement with the RTEAN management has been fulfilled, and on-going efforts are in place to complete the remaining process.
“The government would also like to bring to the public’s attention to the 37-member tripartite committee on national minimum wage, which was recently inaugurated to recommend a new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers, all in a bid to mitigate the hardship the Nigerian citizens are facing. It is also important to note that the organised labour have 12 members representing the working people.”
Onyejeocha said that government is actively implementing its plan to go green with the implementation of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative designed to alleviate the challenges arising from subsidy removal and transition Nigeria permanently to cheaper, safer and more reliable gas produced domestically for transport.