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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The National Assembly has commended the Federal Government and the leadership of the organised labour for reaching a compromise to avert the planned nationwide strike.
The Nigerian labour Congress (NLC) and theTrade Union Congress (TUC) had announced indefinite nationwide strike to drive home its calls for due attention to the plight of workers and the average Nigerian households following subsidy removal.
According to Senate President, Godswil Akpabio, at plenary, yesterday, “the entirety of the Senate appreciates the Nigerian labour Congress and theTrade Union Congress of their understanding of the precarious situation that we are in.
“We also want to commend the Federal Government for the proactive steps taken to avert the strike action that was earlier proposed by NLC and TUC.
“Yes, indeed the understanding will help establish the economy and help us attract foreign direct investment, because no government can actually do well in an era of strife.
“I commend the union, I also commend the Federal Government team and I commend the Senate Committee on Labour for their efforts and hard work done to bring amicable solution to the matter.”
In a separate development, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) expressed satisfaction with the truce reached by government and Labour.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba said ACF was particularly happy that representatives of the labour unions were able to convince the government to pay attention to the plight of workers, and everyone else in the country, arising from the combined deleterious impact, of the withdrawal of subsidy from the price of petroleum products and convergence of the official and parallel foreign exchange markets.
“Both of these policies have compounded and placed in dire straits the far-from-satisfactory daily problems faced by average households in the country. Almost overnight, the value of wages and incomes have continued to plummet and people increasingly face challenges with regards to feeding and nutrition, personal healthcare costs/financing, school fees, transportation, rent, shelter, and nearly all goods and services, affecting all Nigerians except perhaps the less than top 5 per cent of the population classified as the very rich, with the majority of the population continuing to see significant and alarming declines in the value of incomes and standards of living.”
