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| Femi Gbajabiamila |
The Nigerian government has expressed optimism that the labour unions will reconsider their plan for an industrial action set to commence on Wednesday. Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President, made this statement to reporters after holding a closed-door meeting with union leaders in Abuja on Tuesday.
Gbajabiamila revealed that the unions have accepted the proposal for palliatives aimed at mitigating the impact of fuel subsidy removal, which was announced in a nationwide broadcast by President Bola Tinubu on Monday. He further urged the unions to call off the strike, stating that they agreed the President's address was a positive development, and they would communicate with other leaders not present at the meeting.
‘’We appealed to labour to call off the strike tomorrow. And they all agreed that Mr President’s broadcast was a welcome development and they will go back home to talk to the leaders that are not here today.
‘’So, we are hopeful that they will do the right thing and call off the strike tomorrow,’’ he said.
According to Mr. Festus Osifo, National President of the Trade Union Congress, the meeting with the government proved fruitful in light of the President's broadcast. He mentioned that the government representatives assured them that the proposed palliatives were just the beginning and more assistance would follow.
‘’So on our path, we’ve said that what you put on the table is not enough, and that they can do more.
‘’We think, for example, that 3,000 buses are not sufficient. By the time you divide 3,000 by 37, you will see how many they would come up to,’’ he said.
However, Osifo highlighted that the unions deemed the initial proposal insufficient and expressed their intent to negotiate further. They believe that more can be done, especially considering the claim that the government has saved N1 trillion in the past two months. Osifo noted that their request for additional support includes a higher number of buses to be provided for public transportation.
’For us, we felt that the President has said that N1 trillion has been saved in the last two months, so what he proposed is not far reaching.’Now, as part of the principle of negotiation, when anything is put on the table, you’ll accept it but push for more.
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