NLC, TUC Suspend Nationwide Strike

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The joint National Executive Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has suspended the indefinite nationwide strike which entered its second day on Wednesday.

The decision was reached at a meeting on Wednesday that deliberated on the outcome of an earlier interface with the Federal Government led by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

The TUC President, Festus Osifo, confirmed the suspension to Channels Television on Wednesday evening.

Organised labour said it has received a commitment from the Ribadu-led meeting that those arrested for the physical assault on NLC President, Joe Ajaero, would be prosecuted.

The NSA promised to bring both parties back to the table to iron out all issues in dispute, tendering an unreserved apology on behalf of the Federal Government for the brutalisation of Ajaero and other members of the congress.

The meeting which was held at the office of the NLSA with the TUC President, Festus Osifo; the NLC General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja; the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, among others, in attendance.

At the end of the meeting which was held behind closed doors, both the labour minister and the TUC President said they had a robust conversation on the issues at stake.

The NLC and TUC began their indefinite nationwide strike on Tuesday with affiliate unions joining the industrial action.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, the NLC shared circulars by the unions, indicating their compliance with the directive.

The unions included the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP).

Others are the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), the National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees, the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), the National Union of Electricity Employees, and the Nigeria Union of Railway Workers.

The strike continued into Wednesday, prompting appeals and interventions by the National Security Adviser, who met with the labour leader in Abuja,and the senate among other individuals and organisations.