The Nigerian government on Friday assured workers that it is committed to honouring the agreements it signed with labour.
According to the Minister of State of Labour and Employment, Mrs. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, government is unwavering in its commitment to the full implementation of all agreements reached with them.
The Minister gave the assurance at a media briefing she convened to address the 14-day ultimatum that the two Centres, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had given the federal government, to implement the 16-point agreement reached with them on the 2nd of October, 2023.
She emphasized that government had no intention of reneging on the contents of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed with the two labour Centres, and urged them to continue demonstrating restraint in their decisions and actions as the government keeps working to address the challenges currently faced by the nation.
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The Minister said that government would continue leveraging on “the principles of social dialogue, valuing the input of its social partners, with the goal of creating a better Nigeria for all.”
While expressing concern over the current difficulties experienced by Nigerian workers, she said the government has demonstrated sincerity in its ongoing negotiations with the trade unions.
“You will also agree with me that negotiations are often a gradual process, with resolutions unfolding in stages, however the Government is assuring Nigerians of its continued commitment to addressing labour concerns and fulfilling all agreements as we move forward together.
“The government would also like to assure the organised labour of its commitment to maintaining open and constructive communication with them to foster positive labour relations and guarantee a supportive working environment for all workers,” she said.
The Minister listed some of the agreements already being implemented by the government.
“For example, the N35,000 wage award agreed upon between the government and organised labour is currently being implemented. However, we have received complaints regarding non-implementation in some public sector organisations as well as the private sector” adding that the Ministry is actively addressing these issues to ensure compliance across all sectors.
On Thursday, the NLC and the TUC issued a joint statement threatening to call out their members on industrial action, saying that government has not kept faith with its own side of the agreement reached in 2023.
According to the statement signed by the two Presidents, Joe Ajaero of NLC and Festus Osifo of TUC, it said “We wish to state that these agreements, which encompass a wide range of issues crucial to the well-being of Nigerian masses and workers, have not been honored as pledged by the Federal Government.
“From Wage Awards, Palliative adjustments to improved access to public utilities; to the meddlesomeness in the internal affairs of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the interference by the Lagos State Government in union activities, the case of illegal and unlawful proscription of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria RTEAN. The government’s failure to uphold its end of the bargain is deeply regrettable and unacceptable to the working people and the citizenry.
“Constrained by this development and recognizing the urgency of the situation and the imperative of ensuring the protection and defense of the rights and dignity of Nigerian workers and citizens, the NLC and TUC hereby issue a stern ultimatum to the Federal Government, to honour their part of the understanding within 14 Days from tomorrow, the 9th day of February, 2024”.
The Minster, however, insisted that government has already started implementing the said agreement saying “Two days ago, I mediated between the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCEFWW), Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA), the Federation of Construction Industries (FOCI) Employers. Consequently, the parties have signed an agreement to resolve the issue.
“The office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) has intervened in the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) matter with the Lagos State Government. As a result, up to 80% of the agreement with the RTEAN management has been fulfilled, and ongoing efforts are in place to complete the remaining process.
“The government would also like to bring to the public’s attention to the 37-member tripartite committee on national minimum wage which was recently inaugurated to recommend a new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers, all in a bid to mitigate the hardship the Nigerian citizens are facing. It is also important to note that organized labour has 12 members representing the working people.
“Amidst these developments, the government is actively implementing its plan to go green with the implementation of the Presidential CNG Initiative designed to alleviate the challenges arising from subsidy removal and transition Nigeria permanently to cheaper, safer and more reliable gas produced domestically for transport,” Onyejeocha stressed.
In line with government ongoing commitment to improving the welfare of Nigerians, the Minister said provisions have also been made for an initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits as part of the commencement of the auto gas conversion programme.
She said that the Development of the state-of-the-art CNG conversion centres nationwide was also ongoing with the aim “to deliver 1 million converted bi-fuel CNG/PMS vehicles to enable transporters and mass transit operators convert their vehicles that run on PMS to gas (which is forty to fifty percent cheaper than PMS).
“Additionally, the government through the Ministry of Finance is procuring up to 11,500 CNG vehicles including buses and tricycles that will be rolled out in fulfillment of the President’s promise by financing them at concessionary rate, even as production and assembly is ongoing locally and will be delivered in the next few months.
“We shall also liaise with the NNPCL to ensure that the visitation to the refineries for on-the-spot assessment of our refineries is done without further delay”.
Fielding questions from Journalists on how the government intends to ensure that labour does not carry out its threat at the end of the 14 day ultimatum, the Minister said that the government was already reaching out to the organised labour to keep the window of negotiation open and to appreciate that not all the MoU will been implemented at once saying that some of the things that has to be done has to follow some processes.
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