NLC Warns Federal Government To Honor Terms Of Agreement Or There Will Be A Nationwide Strike

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) gave a warning to the federal government on Thursday to honor the terms of the Labour-Federal Government Agreement.

Emmanuel Ugboaja, general secretary of the NLC, warned the government, particularly labor and employment minister Simon Lalong, not to breach the agreement's terms or there would be a nationwide strike.

Ugboaja alleged that Lalong was trying to foist new leadership in the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) — a violation of International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98.

NLC's general secretary also said Lalong had "thrown a spanner in the wheel of the implementation of the Labour-Federal Government Agreement by his unmasked partiality in handling a critical item in the agreement," Vanguard reported.

"The apparent Government meddling in Trade Union matters by siding with people, who had illegally seized the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) headquarters with police support," Ugboaja added.

The organized labor union announced the nationwide strike on Sept. 1 and gave a 21-day ultimatum to the government to address the union demands amid the removal of fuel subsidy that caused an increase in fuel prices, among other issues.

One such issue was the Nigeria Police detaining elected leaders of the NURTW while other leaders were being released. The detention took place last month in an outbreak of violence at the National Secretariat of the NURTW.

Looking at how the government and police were dealing with NURTW, NLC claimed that the "federal government never negotiated in good faith and, consequently, was never genuinely committed to honoring the terms of the October 2, 2023 Agreement."

"This serves to affirm our earlier apprehension that the State was maneuvering to orchestrate a coup d'état against the democratically elected NURTW leadership, potentially alluding to the support of the Government, as suggested by Minister Lalong's actions and statements," Ugboaja added.

The NLC general secretary noted that the NURTW leadership crisis was "engineered" by the government with the help of the police force, "aiding the Lagos group, who were members of the Lands, Parks and Garages Commission in Lagos state, not the NURTW to forcefully occupy the union's headquarters in Abuja."

He also pointed out that Tajudeen Baruwa was elected as the leader democratically, adhering to union statutes, national laws and ILO Conventions.

Ugboaja explained that the "governor of Lagos State previously created Lands, Parks and Garages Commission which led to the Lagos group in 2022 renouncing their membership of the union and taking up offices in the Government Agency."

"It is inconceivable for non-union members to seize national leadership, bolstered by the coercive powers of the state, invoking the name of President as a shield and sword," he added.

NLC also expressed its firm rejection of Lalong's endorsement of the holding of illegal conferences, adding that the government should either honor the terms of the agreement or Lalong should be blamed for the outcome of his actions.