- The union makes the call ahead of the commencement of its seven-day strike to protest the removal of fuel subsidies
- It says it has no choice than to resort to a nationwide strike to drive home its demands
Nigeria Labour Congress has advised Nigerians to get food items, water, medicines and other essential commodities that will last them for at least a week.
The union gave the advice ahead of the commencement of its seven-day strike to protest the removal of fuel subsidies and the hardship occasioned by the concomitant spike in cost of living the subsidy removal engendered across the country.
However, in an effort to avert the industrial action, the Federal Government will on Monday meet with the representatives of the organised labour
The Assistant General Secretary, NLC, Chris Onyeka, said Labour had no choice than to resort to a nationwide strike to drive home its demands.
He said the move would cripple the country as movement would be hampered because commercial transport operators would withdraw their services, while markets, schools and healthcare facilities would be forced to shut down.
He also implored the citizens to minimise their movements so as to avoid being stranded.
Onyeka noted that the labour team would meet with the government on Monday, adding that the outcome of the meeting would determine the next step, according to PUNCH.
He said, “Nigerians should be prepared. That’s what we are saying. Being prepared means you have to stock food in your house and be economical with your movement at this particular point in time so as to avoid being stranded. It is going to be a nationwide mass protest and we are sure that it will affect every corner of the country. We are seriously mobilising across the nation. We are currently at work at the secretariat alongside the CSOs.
“We may not shut down the power supply system, but as the protest goes on, we may shut down other places depending on the response of the government. The (Friday) meeting didn’t hold at all. The government side was not prepared. The representatives were not available. They didn’t show any seriousness towards what they were doing. One of the things we do is hold dialogues. We don’t run away from the table anytime they call us. We are having another meeting with them on Monday.”
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers, and the National Union of Electricity Employees, on Saturday, confirmed that they were mobilising their members to ground the supply of fuel and the national electricity grid from Wednesday in response to the planned mass protest called by the NLC.
The General Secretary, NUPENG, Afolabi Olawale, told PUNCH correspondent, “The congress has taken a unanimous decision and it is mandatory that every affiliate should obey the directive of the Nigeria Labour Congress.”
When probed further to confirm if NUPENG was mobilising its members to halt the lifting of petroleum products, Olawale replied, “That’s it. I’ve given you an answer.”
On their part, electricity workers stated that they would shut the national power grid as it was binding on all employees in the sector to join the mass protest.
The acting General Secretary, NUEE, Dominic Igwebuike, stated, “The NUEE is an affiliate of the NLC and I’ve told you that we will join the strike action.
“The issue is that if there’s a deadlock between labour and the government; that means that the mass protest is still going on, and definitely electricity workers, as an affiliate of the NLC, will partake in the mass protest.
“So, all workers in the power sector will join the mass protest on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. It is binding on every staff member to join the strike action. So, if it results in a blackout, the only option is for the government to listen to us if it wants power to return.
“The government should listen to the Nigerian masses who are going through serious suffering right now. That is the only thing we are asking for. So, for now, the protest is going to hold, unless there is a further directive from the NLC.”
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