The Minister of Labour and
Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said in a statement on Wednesday night that
the strike action called by the NLC to press for the reversal of fuel price
will neither earn more money for the government or repair the refineries.
He, however, debunked
claims by the leadership of the NLC that government did not consult the union
before announcing the new pump price, adding that government and labour met
twice on the issue with organised labour offering its own suggestions on the template
presented by the Minister of Petroleum.
Ngige appealed to the NLC
leadership led by Ayuba Wabba to return to the negotiating table, saying he has
obtained the mandate of the government negotiating team to reopen negotiation
with them.
The statement reads: “The
Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. (Dr.) Chris Nwabueze Ngige
is constrained to respond to a number of issues which were raised today
(Wednesday) by the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba
Wabba, after he led the NLC to withdraw from the negotiation between the
Federal Government and organised labour on Tuesday, May 17, 2016.
“It is instructive to note
that most Nigerians have shown great understanding of the fact that the current
problem is not a subsidy removal issue, but how to deal with the
non-availability of foreign exchange, a situation that leaves the federal
government with no other choice than to deregulate the downstream of the
petroleum sector which resulted in rise in pump price of petroleum.
“In view of the above, the
federal government is fully committed to the quick implementation of the
palliatives in the 2016 budget, while developing other ways to alleviate the
sufferings of Nigerians.
“The federal government
appreciates all the important issues raised by the labour unions and has taken
them into consideration.
Government is resolute in
making sure that the economy is not only strong, but able to provide jobs and
opportunities for all Nigerians.
“The federal government
went to court to seek an injunction restraining labour from embarking on strike
because there is a clear process of declaring labour strike under the law.
It is therefore the view of
government that those processes were not complied with before the NLC called
the strike.”
o ya katu sha
ReplyDeleteN86 or nothing
ReplyDelete