By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Federal Government yesterday said that the constant issuance of strike threats by the labour movements could send wrong signals to potential investors which will negatively affect the business environment.
This is as the federal government and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, have sharply disagreed on the purported fifty percent success in the implementation of the agreement entered into between the duo in October 2023.
The meeting is coming on the heels of the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued by organised labour over the hardship in the country as well as the alleged non-implementation of the agreement with the government.
While the TUC argued that the implementation of the agreement is about fifty percent which it said was a pass mark and fair enough, the government believes that the implementation was more than 50 percent.
Speaking at the meeting between the two parties at the insurance of the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the government said that it was determined to ensure that all agreements are implemented.
The meeting which reviewed the progress reports of agreements reached in October 2023 between the government and organised labour, followed a press statement released on Wednesday by the Minister, stating that substantial progress has been made in all the agreements reached between government and labour unions.
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She also said that after a joint inspection visit on Wednesday to the Port-Harcourt refinery by the organised labour and the Federal Government.
Among those present at the meeting were the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ismail Abubakar; the Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, M A. Yusuf and other directors and departmental heads of the ministry.
On the side of the TUC, were its Secretary General, Nuho Toro, its Vice President, Alakija Kayode, Deputy President, and two others.
During the review, the minister read each item on the memorandum of understanding among which was the payment of four out of six months on wage award, the committee of minimum wage review, payment of outstanding salaries and wages of tertiary education workers in federally owned educational institutions, suspension of VAT on diesel, payment of N25,000 conditional cash transfer to 3,140,819 households, including the pensioners.
While she said the government has made a huge financial commitment to the provision of CNG buses and conversion kits, she also explained that the procurement process was slowing down the launch but measures were already in place to fast-track the process.
The minister explained that the government has commenced a series of engagements with relevant stakeholders on tax incentives, just as the leadership crises rocking NURTW and RTEAN have been resolved.
Among the progress made are subsidised distribution of fertilizers to farmers across the country, the government’s engagement with various state governments and the private sector on the issue of the implementation of wage awards for their workers, and plans to encourage MSEs in the country to create jobs and boost the economy.
Speaking on the inspection visit to the Port-Harcourt refinery by TUC and federal government delegation, the minister said reports by organised labour and government established that the Port-Harcourt refinery is 80 per cent completed.
She explained that the old plant would begin with 54,000 barrels per day, which will produce 2 million litres of PMS and 2.2 million litres of diesel per day, while the new plant which is currently going through its last phase of completion would also begin production before the end of the year.
The combined capacity of the two plants, when fully on stream, would produce 10 million litres of PMS per day.
*Constant strike threat sends wrong signals to potential investors, govt warns
The Minister concluded by reiterating the government’s commitment to social dialogue with organised labour and other stakeholders towards achieving industrial peace and harmony while prioritising workers’ welfare.
She further appealed to union leaders to see a strike as the last option.
According to her, “issuing of constant strike threat could send wrong signals to potential investors. This is not healthy for our business environment.”
In their response, the leadership of TUC commended the government for the progress recorded so far in implementing a substantial part of the agreement but differed with the government on some of the items.
They said, for instance, that while the issue of RTEAN has been resolved, that of NURTW has not been resolved.
“If the issue of the president of the union has not been resolved, it suggests that the issue of NURTW has not been resolved.
“You have carefully done justice to the items, and we commend you and the federal government, but we expect fulfilment of all the agreements”, said Nuhu Toro.
He said some of the items have not been fully implemented but from their assessment, the government has achieved 50 per cent implementation.
According to Toro, “50 per cent is a pass mark, but we urge you to do more. We know there are challenges, but we are very optimistic that they could be addressed”.
While the minister disagreed with the 50 per cent rating by the union, citing reasons, Comrade Toro said 50 per cent is a good performance on the side of the government.
On his part, the Deputy President of TUC, Kayode Alakija, thanked the minister for her consistency with union leaders and appealed to her to back some of the grey areas with data to reconcile them.
He said, “We will appreciate if you back up the one on VAT with empirical data. You said you got the information from the office of the Finance Minister. So, we would appreciate it if they could supply you with data on how they arrived at the information.
