The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has said the need has not arisen for it to join the proposed nationwide strike being called by the Nigeria Labour Congress on Tuesday, September 5, for some obvious reasons.
President of TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo, gave this position on Monday, in a statement jointly signed by his Secretary General, Nuru Toro.
“As of today, the need to embark on a nationwide strike hasn’t arisen; the leadership of congress should intensify the conversation with the government so that all grey areas identified could be ironed out within the time frame given, beyond which we cannot guarantee industrial harmony,” TUC simply stated.
He said the decision not to join the strike was hinged on the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the TUC held on Sunday, September 3, 2023.
Osifo said the meeting deliberated extensively on various issues, particularly the various palliatives that the federal government and some state governments have rolled out thus far.
He went on to explain that the NEC took cursory note of the efforts the leadership of congress has been making in engaging government saliently, and such quiet interventions culminated in the federal government approving the sum of 5billion to each state of the federation, with 52% as a grant and 48% as a loan.
Osifo said the leadership of congress has since made its position known that the sum released was grossly insufficient to ameliorate the sufferings that Nigerians are passing through.
He said their position was applauded by NEC in session and it directed its leadership to further engage the government to provide more palliatives and that its distributions must be extensively monitored to prevent diversion.