The President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has disclosed that none of the agreements reached with the Federal government which preceded their planned strike suspension can be fulfilled in a single day.
Recall that on Monday that the organised labour suspended its planned indefinite strike of Tuesday, October 3, after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the federal government over a series of demands.
This is sequel to the President’s announcement, in his Independence Day broadcast, of a six-month provisional N25,000 additional wage for low-grade workers. However, the federal government in its subsequent negotiation with the organised labour, shifted the ground by increasing it to N35,000 and removing the ceiling for all workers.
But Ajaero, while speaking in an interview with Vanguard, explained that this among other resolutions with the federal government, still remains a promissory note. He added, however, that the agreement necessitated suspension of strike for just 30 days to avail them opportunity of monitoring and evaluation.
According to him, the strike was suspended after agreements on other demands including; adoption of CNG as an alternative to petrol, making refineries work, and getting the ceiling off for the provisional wage increase to go round for all workers. He added that all these are not feasible the following day, noting that their insistence that refineries must work got assurance that plans are underway for Port Harcourt refinery to go on stream by December.
He said, “They are promissory note in the sense that they are not converted to Naira and Kobo or to action immediately. Even as at today, as I am talking with you, it remains promissory note but there is time- frame attached to them now and there is time-frame attached to our MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for which these things are supposed to take effect. You can see that this action is suspended for one month; now those are the signs to show you that it was not embraced fully, it was embraced with some elements of suspicion that it may or may not be completed by the end of 30 days, that was it.
“Yes, it remains promissory note as we talk but some elements of benefit of doubt have to come in, but there was no way you will compel them to pay that wage award that day or the following day, it’s not possible, you have to look at the practical aspect of it.”
