By Charles Adingupu
After prolonged hours of deliberations with the federal government and critical stakeholders in the petroleum sector, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, have bowed to pressure and suspended their planned industrial action scheduled for tomorrow.
The leaders of the workers’ Unions at the end of a meeting with the federal government at the Aso Rock Villa on Monday, agreed to hold off the national strike and continue negotiations.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila who disclosed this on Monday night after a meeting between the federal government and the unions at Aso Villa, said, the Federal Government, the TUC and the NLC would establish a joint committee to review the proposal for any wage increase and establish a framework and timeline for implementation.
“The Federal Government, the TUC and the NLC would review World Bank Financed Cash transfer scheme and propose inclusion of low-income earners in the programme”, the communique reads in part.
It would be recalled that the NLC and TUC had threatened to embark on nationwide strike on Wednesday over the federal government unilateral increase of Petrol pump price to over 200%
The unions vowed that they would only rescind their decision if the federal government ordered the filling stations across the country to revert to the old pump price of petrol.
However, The New Diplomat had earlier reported that midway into the truce meeting, the National Industrial Court in Abuja ordered the Labour unions not to embark on strike.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited on Wednesday last week announced a new price template for fuel nationwide.
The development saw fuel pump price increase from N197 per litre to over N500.
