NLC Strike Threat: Labour Institute DG Harps On Dialogue

The director-general of Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin, Kwara State, Comrade Issa Aremu, has expressed optimism that the federal government and the organised Labour will embrace dialogue in averting the impending strike action by the workers Union.

Aremu, during an interview with LEADERSHIP in Ilorin, the State capital, said the two parties would soon find a common ground to avert the looming strike action.

He said the federal government and labour unions including Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) needed to return to what he identified as ‘rewarding negotiations and compromises’ to prevent strike action as the last resort from the organised labour.

He noted that the disposition of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the last few months of his administration as Nigeria’s President showed that: “he is concerned about the plight of every Nigerian.”

Aremu added that the two ministers of Labour have also expressed their readiness to sustain the ongoing negotiations with the organised labour.

“Strikes are just the means, not the end! The end is improved welfare for working men and women at these challenging times. I know that President Tinubu is concerned about the plight of all. His quotable quote is ‘let the poor breath’.

“The Honourable Minister of Labour, Simon Lanlong, and minister of State Labour, Nkiru Onyejeocha, have also demonstrated commitment to dialogue with NLC and TUC. Strikes are therefore preventable.

“I think both government and organised Labour will soon find a common ground. Strike is certainly not inevitable, indeed it is preventable, but through rewarding negotiations and compromises by the two parties,” Aremu stated.