FG Considers Last Minute Effort To Stop Nationwide Strike

By Ayodele Oni

The Federal Government is making last minutes efforts to abort the planned nationwide indefinite strike by the organized labour, due to commence on Tuesday.

Already, the Federal Government on Friday invited the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) to an emergency meeting.

The Unions had announced that workers would proceed on indefinite strike over the government’s failure to provide palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy on petrol.

Among other things, the NLC and the TUC are asking for wage awards, implementation of palliatives, tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers and a review of the minimum wage.

The meeting is scheduled to be held later Friday evening at Aso Villa, Conference Room of the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

Report revealed that  the Federal Government had earlier fixed the meeting for 12 noon on Friday but had shifted the meeting to evening to enable organized labour to reach out to their leaders outside Abuja.

According to sources, the NLC and its TUC counterpart received the government’s invitation Friday morning through the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

It is not immediately known whether the leadership of NLC and TUC will honour the invitation.