MARGARET CHIDERA
ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has vowed to shut down the economy without giving any notice to the government if the fuel pump price is increased again.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, gave the threat yesterday at the African Trade Union Alliance meeting holding in Abuja.
The threat was in response to the advise by the Director, Trade Union Services, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Emmanuel Igbinosun to the effect that labour should explore due process in its agitations before embarking on strike.
Ajaero warned that Nigerians have suffered enough from the policies of the government and will not take lightly any increase of petroleum pump price that would worsen the situation.
“I commend the Director of Trade Union Services for his labour friendly disposition and for finding out time to be here. We need to commend you. But I was feeling uncomfortable when you had legions of advice to the labour movement. In the actual fact, the centrality of your office is to advise government on some of these issues.
“Maybe I will advise my colleagues for us to engage you as Adviser of Labour, adviser of trade union services since you appear to be closer to us than the Nigerian state whom you are employed to come that we should concern ourselves issues of wages, issues of employment relation but you didn’t say anything about those issues that depreciate our wage, those policies of government that reduce our wages to nothing.
“For you, those are exclusive preserve of the Nigerian state to take decisions probably to increase pump price of petroleum product and our wages will be next to nothing, you didn’t speak on it and maybe we should concern ourselves with those issues.
“But I want to plead with you that those bad economic policies by the state that make our wages next to nothing should be checked. If you check those policies that lead to inflation and the devaluation of the currency even where we are, we will be comfortable.
“If naira is at par with dollar today , we as you to leave it at N30, 000, it will make sense. If inflation is checked to zero, we ask you to leave it where we are but if inflation is flying if even by the admittance of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, we have over one hundred and thirty three million Nigerians that are multi dimensionally poor, I think you should address those issues. If we go for even wage increase tomorrow, the inflation that will come up tomorrow will destroy it.
“As we are here now, they are contemplating increasing the pump price of petroleum product and the ministry of Labour for sometime now will only go to ministry of Justice to come up with so-called injunction to hold the hands of Labour not to respond. I didn’t want to say some of those things you will not be comfortable with because probably if they ask you to represent them tomorrow, you will not be around.
“But let me say this, Nigerian workers will not give any notice if we have not addressed the consequences of the last two increases and we wake up from our sleep to hear that they have tampered with the prices again. They have started floating ideas of a likely increase in the pump price of petroleum product.
“And lastly, the Inspector General of the Nigerian Police is now performing the duty of the ministry of Labour. The duties of the ministry of Labour includes addressing the issues both inter and intra union disputes, it’s not within the purview of the Inspector General of Police to go into that area. And I think that there is the need for the ministry of Labour if you don’t want to educate the ministry of Labour to tell them that they don’t have the right to usurp your function, if they do that, the ministry of Labour will go into extinction and there will be no basis for the ministry of Labour to remain there.
“And I say it’s illegal, we demand an opology from the IG of Police to have arrested or even contemplated to arrest the President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers for whatever reason, at the eve of an election , it’s unheard of in the history of this country and never again should that be entertained.
“The Nigerian Police are Nigerian workers and will not waste time to match to their office. Let them use the same gun that was bought with workers salaries and tax to now engage us. So I felt I should balance, you have advised us, we have to advise you too. Go and collect your functions from Police and from the Ministry of Justice.
“We can now see that even when there is a dispute, intra or inter, it’s your function to refer such to either IAP and in the most instances to NIC, but this doesn’t come from you again.
“And as Nigeria Labour Congress that relates with the Ministry of Labour so much, we are afraid that your work is going to extinction. Please I am not sure that there is a routine change of Permanent Secretaries today but your Permanent Secretary has moved, only God knows who will come there and the Minister that will come there. But we are ready to cooperate with you, laugh with you and fight with you at the appropriate time.”
