The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has said it would mobilise for nationwide strike on August 2, if the federal government failed to reverse the “unfriendly policies” it introduced, including the removal of fuel subsidy.
This declaration is contained in a communique jointly signed by the national president, Joe Ajaero, and Secretary-General, Emmanuel Ugboaja, at the end of the Central Working Committee meeting on Tuesday.
According to the communique, the congress noted that Nigerians have lost their peace of mind following the “Subsidy is gone” comment made by President Boal Tinubu during his May 29, 2023, inauguration.
The NLC also said the government has shown enormous disdain and contempt for the Nigerian people and have declared a war of attrition on Nigerian workers and masses.
The communique read: “The Central Working Committee of the NLC observed that the Federal Government has shown enormous disdain and contempt for Nigerian people and workers having acted and continued to act without regard to the welfare and cries of the citizenry.
“That Government seems to have declared a war of attrition on Nigerian workers and masses without any care leaving them to the throes of hopelessness and helplessness; the Federal Government has refused to put in place safeguards to protect Nigerians from the harsh economic situation that its policies have inflicted on the people rather it has decided to insult the sensibilities of Nigerian masses by offering us N8,000 per family and offering themselves N70bn.
“That the Federal Government has frustrated and abandoned its own committee which was a product of social dialogue between the government and workers’ organisations in the country. While the committee has not met, the government embarked on unilateral actions and programmes.
“That since Mr. President’s “subsidy is gone forever” speech at the inauguration day; the peace of mind of Nigerians has gone; decent living gone increasing despair of unimaginable dimensions. That the federal government has continued to treat Nigerians as slaves and conquered people which it treats with impunity without any concern on the consequences.
“That the Federal Government has continued in an unholy mission of robbing the poor to pay the rich in Nigeria as typified by its continued frustration of the activation of the agreed alternatives to Premium Motor Spirit and new hike in prices of PMS to N617 per litre.”
Speaking further, the NLC noted that the Federal Government had continued to promote the “gang-up of the ruling elite against the Nigerian people and workers.
The labour union added that the federal government also “churned out without relenting policies designed to emasculate Nigerian workers and people via not just increases in PMS prices with its spiralling effect but also increases in VAT, increases in school fees across all publicly-owned secondary and tertiary institutions of learning”.
While declaring its next line of action, the NLC leadership said it had received pressure from Nigerians who have been calling on it to lead a national strike.
“We give the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum within which to meet all our demands and to embark on a nationwide action beginning Wednesday the 2nd of August, 2023 to compel the government to reverse its anti-poor and anti-workers policies,” the statement noted.
