The federal government has said talks with organised Labour regarding the fuel subsidy removal will be concluded tomorrow.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC and an aide of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Mr Dele Alake, spoke last night on behalf of the government to State House correspondents after a meeting between the federal government and Trade Union Congress at the Presidential Villa.
The meeting held with Organised Labour made up of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) last Wednesday was deadlocked.
The federal government’s team was led by the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Senator George Akume. Others are the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; the group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari and former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
Also at the meeting are the executive secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Zacch Adedeji, executive vice president, Downstream of the NNPCL, Yemi Adetunji; former Lagos State commissioner for information and strategy, Mr Dele Alake, a member of the House of Representatives Hon James Faleke, among others.
On the TUC side were seven members, led by the union’s president, Festus Osifo.
However, the NLC was absent at the meeting.
After the meeting last night, Alake said it was highly productive, with the TUC presenting a list of demands which the government was studying for further consideration.
Alake stated, “We can announce to Nigerians that a lot of the items on the list are not impracticable. What we need to do is to study the numbers very well.”
He said the government had requested a leeway to consult extensively and reconvene tomorrow to analyse the numbers, viability, and practicability of the demands.
Among the demands of the Labour movement, the foremost priority is the issue of the minimum wage, which they argued was a consequential impact of the subsidy removal.
Alake said the government was taking the matter seriously and intends to establish a tripartite committee consisting of representatives from the federal government, state authorities, organised labour and the private sector.
He said the committee would assess the dynamics of wage increase percentages, the categories of workers affected and other related factors.
On the timeline for setting up the committee, Alake said, “Very, very soon. We are going to meet Mr. President and he is going to make an immediate decision.”
He reaffirmed the president’s commitment to reviewing minimum wage as previously reported.
While Alake did not disclose all the demands on the list, he said the most crucial demand was the increase in the minimum wage.
He said the removal of subsidy had led to an immediate impact on workers’ purchasing power due to the rise in fuel prices, and “addressing this concern is of utmost importance to the government”.
Responding to questions on the negotiations with NLC, Alake clarified that efforts were being made to reach them.
Although the NLC was not present at the meeting, Alake said they were not being isolated, and the government remains open to engaging with them.
When asked about accusations made by Bayo Onanuga regarding the NLC pandering to the wishes of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25, 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, Alake dismissed it as irrelevant to the discussions on workers’ welfare.
He said the focus was solely on mitigating the impact of subsidy removal on workers and not on partisanship.
On the possibility of shelving the strike, Alake declared that the matter had been discussed and further deliberations would take place during the next meeting tomorrow.
He said concrete decisions would be reached at the parley.
Regarding the demand to revert to the status quo, Alake said it had been considered, taking into account its practicability and viability.
“However, a final decision on this matter will be made during the next meeting,” he said.
Meanwhile, the TUC president, Festus Osifo, has expressed optimism for a positive outcome as the demands of Nigerian workers were presented.
Osifo said the TUC did not agree with the government’s offerings. Instead, they decided to consult their respective organs before further negotiations could take place.
The TUC subsequently called a meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC) on Friday to discuss the government’s proposals and come up with its own demands.
During the NEC meeting, the TUC’s leadership was mandated with a comprehensive list of demands, including the minimum wage.
Osifo said the current minimum wage in Nigeria falls significantly short of providing a living wage and called for a review to rectify this dire situation.
He said both parties acknowledged that further consultations were necessary before final decisions could be reached.
He said the government officials expressed their need to consult with President Bola Tinubu which led to a decision to reconvene on Tuesday.
Osifo confirmed that the TUC presented their list of demands to the government, who received it with goodwill.
He expressed hope that the demands would be reviewed in the best interest of Nigerian workers and the entire population.
When asked about the absence of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at the meeting, Osifo declared that each organisation has its own internal decision-making processes.
He said the TUC and NLC are separate entities, and the TUC is implementing the decisions made by its NEC.
Regarding concerns about a possible rift between the TUC and the NLC, Osifo called on the press to help educate Nigerians about the nature of organisational decision-making.
He said the decisions of the respective organs were binding on their leadership.
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