The federal government has assured the organised labour of resuming the payment of wage awards to workers this week.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, gave the assurance in Abuja at a meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on account of their ultimatum to the government on the implementation of the 16-point agreement reached with them on 2nd October, 2023.
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According to the statement by the ministry’s director of press and public relations, Olajide Oshundun, the minister also appealed to the labour organisations to withdraw their 14-day ultimatum, as the government had stepped up efforts to complete the implementation of that agreement.
The meeting was convened to brief the labour centres on the progress of the implementation of the agreement, and to reaffirm the government’s commitment to the agreement.
She said, “It is true we entered into an agreement, but the government has shown good faith, and considering the urgency of the issue at hand, I called this meeting because dialogue has always been the best way out, and we are all for the well-being of our people. I am here to show good cause as to why some agreements have not been met.’’
On the CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) buses, programme director and chief executive of the Presidential CNG initiative, Michael Oluwagbemi, who addressed the meeting virtually, stated that the government had made 70% payment for the procurement of new CNG buses and CNG kits. He said while some of the buses are ready, they expect to start assembling others locally, including the tricycles, between March and April 2024.
The meeting agreed on an immediate joint inspection visit to the Port Harcourt Refinery for labour to confirm the reported progress made in getting the refinery back to operation.
Onyejeocha noted that while the reaction of the labour organisations was not unwarranted in the face of the government’s non-completion of the agreement, bearing in mind that some items in the agreement could only be achieved in stages, she hoped that the discussion would lead to the rescinding of the ultimatum by labour.