Workers in many states on Wednesday shunned a directive by the Ayuba
Wabba faction of the NLC for them to embark on an indefinite strike due
to the increase in the pump price of petrol from N86.50 to N145.
But labour and civil society organisations still held rallies in few
states to press home their demand that the Federal Government should
reverse the price hike.
There were protests in Lagos, Abuja, Osun, Benin and Kwara among other states.
Talks between the government and organised labour collapsed on Tuesday
night as representatives of the NLC walked out of a meeting with a
Federal Government’s delegation, led by the Secretary to the Government
of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal.
President of a faction of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, had given the go ahead for
the strike to begin on Wednesday after the parties in the negotiation
failed to reach an amicable settlement.
But the Joe Ajaero-led NLC faction and the Trade Union Congress, led by
Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, had distanced themselves from the strike while
NUPENG and PENGASSAN also ignored the strike.
The Ajaero faction had earlier in the afternoon on Tuesday attended a
separate meeting with the government and indicated that it would not
participate in the strike, but negotiate further with government.
In the Federal Capital Territory on Wednesday, civil servants turned up
for work at the different ministries, departments and agencies.
The Federal Secretariat was a beehive of activities, contrary to the directive of the Wabba-led NLC.
At the ministries of finance, budget and national planning as well as
that of industry, trade and investment, workers reported for work.
Apart from civil servants, banks and other offices were opened for business as early as 8am.
An official in the ministry of finance, who spoke to Punch PUNCH said,
“You know that there has been this division among the labour unions as
to what the direction of the industrial action would take.
‘‘Apart from this, there was a court order stopping the strike; so, no
one was fully sure of what to do. As a result of this division, we don’t
know what to do and since it is the government that gave me job and not
the NLC, I have to obey the directive to report to duty because we now
have a government that does not tolerate nonsense.”