The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has stated that Labour Unions suspended their indefinite strike to allow for the fulfillment of the promise by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to fulfill the conditions enlisted in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Federal Government and the Organised Labour.
The organized Labour and the Federal Government had signed a 15-point agreement in the MoU, which was made public on October 1, 2023.
Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) suspended their planned strike scheduled for Tuesday, October 3, 2023, after meeting officials of the Federal Government at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The organized labour had planned to shut down the country owing to the impact of the fuel subsidy removal and the failure of the government to meet its demands.
Speaking to The PUNCH on Sunday, the National Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress, Tommy Etim, disclosed that the suspension of its October nationwide strike was a temporary move.
He also dismissed the claim by governors that they would not implement the demands in the MoU between the Federal Government and organized labour on the grounds that governors had rolled out palliatives for state civil servants and residents before the MoU was signed.
Etim stated, “That is not possible. Anyway, the truth is that we have reached out to our people in the states to meet with them. Letters have also been sent to that effect.”
On the progress reached so far with the government, the labour leader said, “The 30-day ultimatum we gave to them is still in place. We have given them time and we are sure they are working. What we did was just a suspension. When you suspend a strike, you can kickstart it without further notice. We have done our part and we are waiting for them to play their part.”
