The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a stern warning to the Federal Government, urging them to exclude the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, from the scheduled meeting to review the implementation of the subsidy removal palliative measure. The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, made this declaration, emphasizing that the union might reconsider its participation if Minister Lalong is in attendance.
Ajaero stated, “Hopefully, we may meet tomorrow (today) with the Federal Government to see whether the agreement with organized labor on the fuel subsidy removal palliatives was met or not. If that meeting is to be held, it will be without the Minister of Labour and Employment (Simon Lalong) because we will not be part of any meeting with the Federal Government that the Minister of Labour and Employment will attend.”
The NLC’s stance stems from their previous concerns regarding Minister Lalong’s alleged support for a faction of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and his encouragement of their separate delegates’ conferences, both at the zonal and national levels. The NLC believes that Minister Lalong may not effectively oversee labor relations, making any meeting with him potentially counterproductive.
Adewale Adeyanju, the National Vice President of NLC, confirmed the scheduled meeting for today and emphasized that the outcome would be communicated to the public. He mentioned, “I think the government knows what to do because we signed a communiqué with the government. So, the communiqué is binding on the two parties. Whatever the outcome is, you will hear from us to know the next action. We are meeting on Monday (today) after which we will know the next point of action. For now, I cannot pre-empt my leaders; So, let us see what tomorrow will look like.”
Toro Nuhu, the Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress, echoed the sentiment and stated, “The organized labor would be meeting with the Federal Government to roll out an assessment on what has been achieved and what is left. The organized labor would deliberate with the Federal Government on the demands yet to be achieved.”
As the meeting approaches, the exclusion of Minister Lalong is seen as a pivotal step by the NLC to ensure that the discussions remain productive and focused on addressing the subsidy removal palliative measures effectively.