As the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) proposed August 2 to commence its nationwide strike, unions under its umbrella said they are gearing up for the upcoming industrial action.
The Editor recalls that the labour union had proposed a nationwide strike to protest what it calls harsh policies and removal of fuel subsidy by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
The NLC, after its National Executive Council on Friday, picked August 2 to commence a nationwide strike and mass protests.
Following the announcement of the strike by the NLC, the government immediately called for an emergency meeting with the organised labour comprising the NLC and Trade Union Congress with a follow-up meeting on Friday at the State House.
But on Friday, officials of the organised labour angrily stormed out of the meeting following the alleged failure of the government team to show up.
Speaking with The Punch, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) and National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) workers confirmed that they are mobilising their members to ground the supply of fuel and the national electricity grid from Wednesday in response to the planned mass protest.
The General Secretary of NUPENG, Afolabi Olawale, said, “The congress has taken a unanimous decision, and it is mandatory that every affiliate should obey the directive of the Nigeria Labour Congress.”
Similarly, electricity workers stated that they would shut the national power grid as it was binding on all employees in the sector to join the mass protest.
The acting General Secretary of NUEE, Dominic Igwebuike, noted that “The NUEE is an affiliate of the NLC, and I’ve told you that we will join the strike action.
“The issue is that if there’s a deadlock between labour and the government, that means that the mass protest is still going on, and definitely electricity workers, as an affiliate of the NLC, will partake in the mass protest.
“So, all workers in the power sector will join the mass protest on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. It is binding on every staff member to join the strike action. So, if it results in a blackout, the only option is for the government to listen to us if it wants power to return.
“The government should listen to the Nigerian masses who are going through serious suffering right now. That is the only thing we are asking for. So, for now, the protest is going to hold, unless there is a further directive from the NLC.”
Giving his comment about the planned nationwide strike, the Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, appealed to the NLC to engage the Federal Government in negotiations.
He said, “It is quite a difficult situation. Honestly, what will be the pros and cons of embarking on the strike action? They should negotiate more because who is suffering at the end of the day? It’s Nigerians who will suffer.
“I understand that the NLC is defending the people’s rights and the entire people in society because of the hardship of the policy. The government, on its own part, needs to accelerate its response.”
However, contrary to Itodo’s position, the South-South Coordinator, United Action for Democracy, Enefaa Georgewill, stated that the strike was long overdue.
He said, “We agree with the Nigeria Labour Congress, and this (strike) is long overdue although the NLC is equally suffering from the issue of trust. We feel that they have been used to behead the popular uprising. We don’t even trust that before the proposed date, the NLC will not come up with a story that they are calling off the strike because they want to go to negotiation.”
