By Oluwatosin Maliki
Simon Lalong, the Minister of Labour and Employment, in a a meeting with leaders of the Nigerian labour congress (NLC), pointed out the adverse effects that the industrial actions by labour union have on the country’s economy.
On Monday, in Abuja, the Minister stated this in a scheduled meeting with the leaders of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) which commenced in an effort to stop the union from embarking on another industrial action.
The minister promised to join hands with labour to address the issues and demands of the labour unions in a just and balanced way.
He therefore appealed to the labour leaders to be patient, realistic and frank in their discussions.
Furthermore, the minister also expressed optimism that the meeting would yield positive results in resolving matters of national interest.
Afterwards, President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, said his team was in the meeting with mixed feelings, whether “something will happen or not,” as many past meetings never yielded any positive response.
He further noted that the past strikes that the minister referred to were as a result of the frustrations faced by Nigerian workers due to the effects of the hardship experienced after the subsidy removal.
Also, Ajaero pointed out that none of the agreements with the FG had ever been addressed despite all their meetings that had been held.
He strongly condemned the invasion of the office of the Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), with some of its leaders arrested and detained.
He expressed, that the action alone is more than enough for the NLC to proceed with their planned strike.
