UPDATED: FG begs labour leaders to shelve strike

The federal government has appealed to the organised labour to shelve the looming strike in the country.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, who stated this at press briefing in Abuja on Monday, explained that he had not yet met with the labour leaders because he was yet to get adequate brief from the relevant departments.

Speaking at the briefing, Lalong specifically appealed to the leadership of both the TUC and the NLC to prevail on all its affiliate unions to shelve their scheduled two-day and planned total shutdown in 21 days time.

He identified the reverse of the gains already made by FG, among others as the reason for the appeal while promising to attend to the contending issues raised by the NLC holistically if given some time to settle into the office.

Lalong said, “It has become pertinent to appeal to the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to suspend its intended two-day warning strike, as such action would be detrimental to the gains already being recorded on our course to securing a greater future for Nigerian workers and citizens at large

“Furthermore, I would request that the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress gives this government some time to settle and address the issues on the ground holistically.

“It should be realised that the cabinet of this administration was only recently sworn in by Mr. President and all cabinet members have hit the ground running by receiving briefings from their MDAs.

“Therefore, the issues raised by the leadership of the NLC are some issues that I and the Hon. Minister of State for Labour and Employment are being briefed upon. In the next few weeks, we intend to address them holistically.

“Consequently, I use this opportunity to reassure Nigerian workers that this government would never take them for granted nor fail to appreciate their support and understanding.

“We shall continue to pursue policies aimed at massive employment generation in all sectors of the economy as well as look into immediate challenges that have emerged from the policies of the government. We cannot do this in an atmosphere devoid of industrial peace.”

The minister, however, disclosed to journalists that the ministry was yet to get a notification of the planned strike as required by law from the NLC.