Labour To FG On Strike: Go To Court; Reveals Plan To Sack 17,000 Workers

The Trade Union Congress, TUC, says no going back on the strike declared by the organized labour in the country.

TUC and their counterpart the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, on Tuesday directed their members to embark on a nationwide strike from October 3, saying they have given the federal government enough time to address their demands.

The government said the demands of the unions are being addressed and urged them not to embark on the proposed strike.

For instance, the federal government said last week that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will soon announce a new minimum wage for workers in the country, a key issue in the demands of the unions.

Speaking to The Punch on Wednesday, the National Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress, Tommy Etim, said there’s no going back on the strike declared by the two unions.

Alleging plan by the government to sack 17, 000 workers Etim disclosed that no meeting with the federal government will stop the strike, saying labour has given enough time for their demands to be addressed, adding that “nothing will stop it and if they (FG) like, they can go to court as usual.”

Recall that On June 5, 2023, the National Industrial Court, NIC, of Nigeria, Abuja division, restrained the NLC and TUC from going on strike after the federal government filed a suit to that effect.

But Etim said, ‘’The government had been given more than enough time to meet our demands but they did nothing. The strike has been fixed, nothing will stop it and if they (FG) like, they can go to court as usual. The only thing that can stop the strike is if they meet all our demands.”

Asked what Nigerians should expect during the industrial action, the labour leader added, ‘’It will not just be a total shutdown of the nation, it is going to be the mother of all strikes. Do you know that they are even planning to sack 17,000 workers in this period when Nigerians are suffering great hardships?’’

Also, a top official of the NLC while speaking on the proposed strike, said, “The issues are straightforward, NLC’s joint communiqué was very clear. NLC has declared an indefinite nationwide strike which is to begin on October 3, 2023, and nothing will make us not to start unless the government does everything we have said they should do.’’

Asked if the unions would shelve their plan if invited to a meeting by FG, the union leader noted, ‘’No meeting or promise that would make us stop; the only thing that would make us stop is the fulfilment of all those demands, nothing else.”