The federal government would most likely make a pronouncement on the demands of the organised labour regarding palliatives to cushion the economic impact of the removal of subsidy on fuel on Nigerian workers by next week.
This was disclosed by the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, while speaking yesterday.
He said the leadership of TUC had demanded an update on their demands ranging from wage award, tax holiday for low income earners, the issue of conversion to CNG automobile as well as modalities for disbursement of palliatives money given to states.
However, Osifo said the union was told during a meeting with the government negotiating team lead by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Hon. Simon Lalong, yesterday, that President Bola Tinubu was going to make the position of the administration on their demands known latest by next week.
“So the minister said he had audience with Mr. President and that all the issues have been streamlined but that because the President travelled and will be coming back by weekend, that we should give him extra two weeks.
“We said no that we don’t have further two weeks to give anymore, that we actually thought that coming to this meeting that they are going to give us explicit decision. “The minister assured that the president is going to come back by weekend and that by next week, even before the strike that the president will make an announcement and that there is going to be pronouncements on the issues.”
While giving further details of its engagement with the federal government, TUC president said: “ Sometime last month we wrote a letter to the Minister of Labour and Employment and in that letter we clearly explained issues on how tax holidays could be given to people that are low incline earners.
“So today was an update by the minister and we the national officers of TUC went to the meeting. Usifo said the minister informed them that he and the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating minister for the Economy have had audience with Mr. President and reviewed the issue of Wage Award and that there was something the president asked them to go and fine-tune and then get back to him so that he can make the announcement but that it was not possible before the president travelled.
“Also that the other issues about the federal workers and even the president’s pronouncement with regard to MSME, where are we on them? What has been done regard that?”
He said they also discussed about the palliative fund disbursed to the states and what should be the effective ways that could be monitored.
Osifo said the TUC was concerned about the template for the implementation of the palliative and how it would be monitored to ensure that it gets to the right persons.
“We also raised issues about taxation and CNG.”
Usifo said the TUC raised the issue of the difficulties faced by average civil servant coming to work from the outskirts of Abuja on transportation.
“The federal government assured us that the president is going to make a broad based pronouncement on the issues next week.and that the announcement will assuage our feelings,” he said.
Based on this assurances, Usifo said the TUC agreed to convene its National Administrative Council today, and then come out with a position.
On whether the TUC decided to back out of the strike 2-day declared by the NLC recently and the one expected to commence on September 22, the TUC president explained that the trade union centre never joined NLC to issue the strike ultimatum.
On whether there was a split in organised labour which used to have both TUC and NLC holding joint engagements with government,
Osifo said: “As much as we are concerned, there is no organisation or association registered as organised labour but the word is used to refer to the labour movement.
“For us at the TUC, we feel it’s is always better when we work together, it is always better when we synergise, government’s all over the world, even states as sub-nationals are all coming together, and in Nigeria you look at the Governors’ Forum and look at the ECOWAS and African Union.
“So if we as labour there cannot be firm synergy, it is too bad,” adding that at that at the end of the day the objective of labour unions remains the same which protecting the interest and well-being of our members.
Earlier while speaking during the meeting with TUC, Lalong in company of the Minister of State, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyeajeocha, told the TUC that after their last meeting, he met with the President to highlight some of the issues raised by the labour centre.
He appealed to the TUC to exercise more patience, explaining that before the President left for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, he was fully briefed and gave further directives on implementation of issues put before him, particularly when he personally met with the labour leaders.
