The Nigeria labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have suspended the nationwide indefinite strike embarked upon in protest against brutalisation of NLC President, Joe Ajaero, in Imo State on November 1 and other demands from the Federal Government.
A source close to an emergency joint National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the leaders of the two labour unions in Abuja last night, said the suspension was to pave way for further negotiations on issues that caused the strike.
The source added that the strike was suspended, following the intervention of the Federal Government through the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
The NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had at an earlier meeting held at Aso Rock, personally apologized on behalf of the government for the attack and brutalisation of Ajaero.
The source said: “He (NSA) also told us that the suspects have been arrested and that detailed investigations would be conducted. We have no reason to doubt his sincerity because without his intervention, probably Ajaero would have been killed.
“He assured us that such act of violence and misconduct would no longer be tolerated. We knew that the strike is biting government very hard because today (Wednesday), was more effective than Tuesday and there were signs that tomorrow (today), would have been more effective as more unions had joined.
“So, they (government) did not want it to continue because like they said, it is worsening the already fragile economy, among others, and national security.
“On our part, we faulted the Labour Minister who was in attendance, alongside the Minister of State for Labour, for not apprehending the strike. We made him to understand that if he had intervened, probably we would not have got to this stage.
“We told him that there was no word or statement from the ministry, condemning what happened in Imo when the issues are purely labour issues.
“He said we did not communicate to him officially and that if we had communicated to him officially, he would have known what to do.
‘But we told him that once an ultimatum has been issued, it is his responsibility to apprehend the strike because the issues are industrial relations matters.
“Again, by this strike, we have made the point that our right to strike cannot be denied us. The National Industrial Court (NIC) cannot be a cover for government to perpetuate all kinds of impunity and lawlessness. Nigeria is signatory to the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions and the right to strike is core.
“The NIC cannot just issue an injunction any time without putting the other parties on notice. We have made that point. Industrial matters are better resolved through dialogue and not through cheap injunctions to blackmail the other party. The NIC ought have advised the government to dialogue instead of dishing out injunctions that tend to ridicule it.”
When he emerged from the meeting, the President of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Festus Osifo, who spoke on behalf of the Labour unions said: “We came here for a discussion . The NSA invited us in furtherance of a press release he issued disclosing that some persons have been arrested in connection with the brutality meted out on the NLC President.
”At the end of the day, he made several promises of what they are going to do and several appeals for the strike to be called off.
“We had a robust conversation and we told him our side of the issues. The strike was caused by something and the strike is a symptom of the problem. Every conversation we have had, we are taking back to our organs.
“The NSA promised to coordinate all the steps and issues involved. We will go back, reappraise the conversations we have had, with all the assurances they have given us, before coming out with a decision.
On his part, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Simon Lalong, said labour and government representatives had very fruitful, genuine and frank discussions on the issues involved.
“It is an ongoing discussion. We have not received any commitment on when the strike will be called off, we have appealed to them. We don’t expect the strike to take a long time.”
Ribadu had before the meeting, said some suspects had been arrested in connection with the attack on Ajaero.
The NSA, who expressed concern over the ongoing industrial action by the NLC and TUC said investigation had since commenced on the matter.
Head, Strategic Communications, Office of the NSA, Zakari Mijinyawa, who disclosed this in a statement, said: “NSA Urges Labour to Rescind Strike, Condemns Attack on NLC President, says Suspects Arrested Over Attack and Investigations have commenced.
“The Office of the National Security Adviser is concerned by the declaration of a nationwide strike by the leadership of the Organised Labour led by the NLC and TUC.
”The NSA is particularly worried about the implications of the strike on the livelihood of ordinary Nigerians and its potential impact on economic security and other strategic national interests.
“As attested by the NLC leadership, the NSA immediately intervened on learning about the travails of the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress Joseph Ajaero who was assaulted in Owerri, Imo State.
”The NSA regrets the incident and condemns it in its entirety as it was against the rule of law and the principles of freedom of association and expression subscribed to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his administration. The Federal Government will never condone such an act. ”
“The NSA assured that the outcome of the investigation would be made public, appealing to the unions to call off the strike.
“As a fallout of the incident relevant authorities were directed to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assault and bring to book the culprits. Available update indicates that some arrests have already been made in this regard. The outcome of the investigation will be made public as soon as it is concluded.
“The Federal Government, through the Office of the NSA, therefore appeals to the labour leadership to call off the current strike action and allow the dialogue process underway to be exhausted.
In his reaction over the strike, former Edo State Governor , Senator Adams Oshiomole, condemned the NLC and the TUC for embarking on a nationwide strike over the attack on Ajaero at the NLC state secretariat in Owerri, Imo State.
Oshiomhole, who is a also a former President of the NLC, spoke on Politics Today, a Channels TV programme, said the strike was a misplaced priority, saying that it wasn’t in national interest.
According to him, Labour isn’t in business to wreck the nation’s economy.
He urged the NLC to prioritise the hunger in town, saying that the development deserved bigger attention than their personal interests.
He said, “Our basic procedure in labour is that, when an employer is seen to be responsible for what has happened, you can mobilise the people. And if the workers are convinced that what has happened is wrong, you can direct them to down tools and limit it to the employer involved.
“You cannot ask workers in Lagos, who have no problem with their governor to disrupt services or workers in Rivers to disrupt services. Nationwide strike is not a tea party. When you do it, you do it because you have been pushed to the wall. To go on general strike, the issue must be national in nature.
“It is not for nothing that you have what we call State Councils of the NLC and TUC. When local issues happen in a state, the workers in those states can deal with it. It is in the course of dealing with it that they appear to be overwhelmed. If the government is not responding, then you call for external assistance. Labour isn’t in business to wreck the national economy. To plunge the whole country into strike, the issue must be such that there is no other way to deal with it.
“When I was the NLC President, we went to supervise a strike and limited it to that state. In fact, that is what makes it attractive. The use of the word solidarity means those involved. I mean those involved at the scene of the incident. If Imo workers are convinced that this requires a strike action, they will meet in Imo State and take that decision, communicate it to the headquarters that they are going to go on strike because their President came there in their interest, and he was brutalised.
“The point I am making is that it is not on everything that you use general strike. If you have a problem with one employer, you don’t subject all the employers to a strike action. It is never done that way. When we say, ‘injury to one is injury to all’, the person injured and those around that neighbourhood must first fight. And if after sometime they need reinforcement, you will call on others to join.”
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