Following a fall-out meeting with the Federal Government over increasing hardship and suffering across the country, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) will launch a two-day warning strike today.
NLC Strike: This comes after the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, cautioned yesterday that the strike will aggravate the suffering of ordinary Nigerians and urged the NLC to call it off.
The NLC issued a two-day warning strike on Friday to protest the excruciating mass suffering and impoverishment experienced across the country, threatening a total and indefinite shutdown of the economy within 14 working days or 21 days after the warning strike if the government did not take steps to address the hardship.
While briefing on Friday after its NEC’s meeting, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said:
“NEC in session of NLC resolved to embark on a total and indefinite shutdown of the nation within 14 working days or 21 days from today until steps are taken by the government to address the excruciating mass suffering and the impoverishment experienced around the country.”
It was reported that a media conference by the minister, purportedly castigating labor leaders, pushed NLC leaders to skip the meeting, which was scheduled to take place at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Federal Secretariat.
The minister was claimed to have threatened the NLC leaders during his briefing, effectively ruling out the possibility of the NLC attending the meeting.
According to one of the visibly agitated NLC leaders, the minister’s reported outburst a few hours before the scheduled meeting put the final nail in the NLC’s commitment to carry out the strike as agreed by members of its National Executive Council, NEC, last Friday.
His words:
“We were scheduled to meet the Minister of Labour and Employment later today (yesterday), precisely by 3 pm but a few hours to the meeting, the minister called a media briefing where he castigated us and threatened us among other uncomplimentary words.
“Not that the meeting would have stopped the strike, but we intended to attend the meeting in the spirit of social dialogue. But as you are aware, the Minister of Labour, before the scheduled meeting, held a media briefing castigating and threatening us.