The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday explained that it suspended its scheduled strike because recognised the willingness of the federal government for continuous engagement and to offer reasonable palliatives in due course to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy on petrol.
The Congress said it also considered the mood of the socio-polity in the last elections and the need to pursue national stability before deciding to shelve its planned nationwide strike over fuel subsidy removal.
The labour centre, in a communique issued at the end of an emergency National Executive Council (NEC), signed by the national president, Comrade Joe Ajaero, and the general secretary, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, said it also took into account the court injunction restraining the congress from proceeding with the proposed nationwide strike.
It further stated that even though it accepted the ruling of National Industrial Court (NIC), it disapproved of the ‘continuous weaponisation of the instrument of Exparte injunction’ by the court in favour of the government against the interests of Nigerian workers.
The labour centre described the ruling as flawed and called on the federal government to comply with the laws of the land, especially as it concerns obedience to the rulings of the courts and its brazen disregard to the 2023 Appropriation Act.
Part of the communique reads, “To, therefore, support and accept the decision of the leadership of Congress to suspend the proposed strike in compliance with the flawed rulings of the NIC and also allow negotiations to flow freely and enable final agreement during or after the 19th June, 2023 negotiation round with the federal government, all affiliates and state councils of Congress are hereby directed to suspend further action and mobilisation until the outcome of the final negotiations.”
Among the resolutions agreed between the federal government delegation led by the chief of staff to the president, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) include a proposal for wage increase and review of the $800 million World Bank financed cash transfer scheme and proposed inclusion of low-income earners in the programme.
Also, the proposal includes the implementation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion programme earlier agreed with labour centres in 2021 which would reduce vehicles dependence on fuel and save the federal government billions of naira.
In a related development, the House of Representatives has commended the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for shelving its earlier planned strike and accepting to continue to dialogue with the federal government over the removal of fuel subsidy.
The NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) had on Monday cancelled the planned indefinite nationwide strike to protest last week’s withdrawal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.
The House’s resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Hon. Idem Unyime (PDP, Akwa Ibom).
Hon Unyime acknowledged the possible impact of the industrial action on the economy and livelihoods of the people, stating that the directive to shelve the planned strike was in the best interest of the nation.
The lawmaker agreed that the billions of dollars spent on subsidy from 2015 to date could be channeled to development projects in the country.
Adopting the motion, the House urged the federal government to ensure it implements the resolutions reached at its meeting with Labour.
Air Peace Slams N1.7bn Suit On NLC, TUC Over Flight Disruptions
Meanwhile, the management of Air Peace has slammed a N1.7 billion suit on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) over the alleged disruption of its operations by the unions and its officers.
The airline is asking the Federal High Court in Lagos to award it N1 billion as general damages, N450 million as special damages and N250 million as exemplary damages.
Also joined in the suit as defendants are the president of NLC, Joe Ajaero, his TUC counterpart, Festus Osifoh, Emmanuel Ugboaja and Nuhu Toro.
Air Peace asked the court to declare that given the compassionate nature of aviation ordinarily, and particularly in the current climate of pervasive fear of insecurity over long-distance travels within Nigeria by other modes of transportation, the defendants’ calculated precipitation of grounding all its flights throughout Nigeria for the reason that it is responsible for the majority of air-passenger and goods flights in the country to cause substantial nationwide paralysis, constitutes condemnable sabotage of the national economy and security.
The plaintiffs also asked the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants by themselves, their agents/servants/privies or otherwise, however, from repeating/continuing the acts of intimidation and coercion against it.
The airline, in an affidavit attached to the suit, averred that on May 3, 2023, its employees on duty were confronted by a noisy mob which invaded their offices, check-in counters and work areas at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, and the Murtala Mohammed Airport Terminal 1 (MM1) premises, essentially disrupting their work, disorganising and upturning tables, unplugging and pushing away desktops and personal computers used by the employees, some of whom sustained injuries in the commotion.
It also claimed that from the songs they sang and the instructions that the apparent leaders loudly issued during the disruption, it immediately became clear that the mob causing the disruptive scene were members of the NLC and TUC, some of whom got into violent altercations, injuring some of the airline’s customers and staff who voiced their frustrations at the disruption of their travel plans by the defendants’ antics.
The plaintiffs also stated that the defendants’ actions had inevitable ripple effects on its operations in other airports in the country, including the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, and Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, all of which the plaintiff’s scheduled flights could not take off from or land.
It added that the defendants, as the plaintiff was to learn later, had some grouse against the governor of Imo State, Chief Hope Uzodimma, and to “punish him” decided upon a total shutdown of Imo State beginning from Wednesday, May 3, 2023, as was stated among other things in their joint communiqué of May 1, 2023.
Air Peace said Lagos is the operational hub and nerve centre of the airline operations, and that a direct consequence of the defendants’ unlawful invasion of its work areas/offices and forcible prevention of its functions, as detailed above, was the cancellation of its flights billed for different destinations.
Also, it said, several Air Peace members of staff suffered physical molestation and incurred bruises which led to psychological trauma and hospital visitations for treatments, with some having to miss work in order to recover.
In addition to the financial losses, the plaintiff said it had also suffered a grave injury to its business reputation, not only in the eyes of its flying customers but also in those of the general public and its investors.
It further stated that its lawyers wrote letters dated May 12, 2023 to the defendants, demanding that they promptly make amends for their unjustifiable, grievous and malicious injuries to it, but which demand they have disregarded and are instead threatening more disturbance and harm to its operations.
The plaintiff, therefore, submitted that the defendants’ conduct in the circumstances of this suit and leading to its significant losses are egregiously malicious, scandalous and most deserving of reproach by the award of exemplary damages.
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