The Nigeria Labour Congress( NLC) and the Trade Union Congress( TUC) in Rivers State have suspended their planned protest over the uninterrupted police blockade at local government area secretariats.
Chairmen of the labour centres said the suspense followed reports of plans by some individualities to incite violence under the guise of being labour members.
At a joint press briefing in Port Harcourt on Sunday, NLC Chairman Alex Agwanwor prompted the police to apprehend anyone who protests in the unions ’ name on Monday.
He advised Nigeria Union of Original Government Employees( NULGE) members who originally proposed the protest to wait for farther directives from the labour centres.
The NLC Chairman and his TUC counterpart, Ikechukwu Onyefuru, also dismissed allegations from former Original Government Chairmen that state labour leaders are prejudiced.
The unions had on Friday asked the police, who took taken over original government secretariats in the state, to vacate the council premises.
The Friday meeting addressed three crucial issues the constitution and inauguration of Caretaker Committees in the 23 Original Government Areas, the call by the All Progressives Congress( APC) for a state of emergency in the state, and the police takeover of council secretariats.
The NLC boss in the state acknowledged the police efforts to maintain peace but stated that deying workers access to their offices was a breach of their rights.
He prompted the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to instruct the Rivers State Commissioner of Police to grant workers access to their offices to carry out their licit duties. The labour groups advised that if their appeal was ignored, they would mobilise their members to reclaim their offices.