The Nigerian government has requested that the Nigeria Labour Congress leadership postpone its scheduled two-day warning strike set to begin on Tuesday.
On Monday in Abuja, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, issued this appeal.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, appealed to the NLC to suspend its planned strike, citing the reversal of progress made by the Federal Government and promising to address the union’s concerns holistically if given some time to settle into the office.
Lalong said, “It has become pertinent to appeal to the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to suspend its intended two-day warning strike, as such action would be detrimental to the gains already being recorded on our course to securing a greater future for Nigerian workers and citizens at large.”
“Furthermore, I would request that the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress gives this government some time to settle and address the issues on the ground holistically.”
“It should be realised that the cabinet of this administration was only recently sworn in by Mr. President and all cabinet members have hit the ground running by receiving briefings from their MDAs.”
“Therefore, the issues raised by the leadership of the NLC are some issues that I and the Hon. Minister of State for Labour and Employment are being briefed upon. In the next few weeks, we intend to address them holistically.”
“Consequently, I use this opportunity to reassure Nigerian workers that this government would never take them for granted nor fail to appreciate their support and understanding.”
”We shall continue to pursue policies aimed at massive employment generation in all sectors of the economy as well as look into immediate challenges that have emerged from the policies of the government. We cannot do this in an atmosphere devoid of industrial peace,” he added.
Although the ministry had not yet received official notification of the strike from the NLC, as required by law, the minister said that he would be meeting with labour leaders at 3pm on Monday to try to avert the strike.