TUC Begins Protest In Lagos Over RTEAN Ban (Photos)

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) have begun the one-day protest in Lagos State.

Naija News reports that the TUC is protesting against the ban on the operations of RTEAN, one of its affiliates, by the Lagos State Government.

Recall that the TUC, over the weekend, announced a one-day protest over the Lagos government’s ban on the operation of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in the state.

Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, TUC National President, Festus Osifo, said the union had employed all the necessary tools of engagement for amicable resolution, including writing letters and holding meetings with the Lagos government on the issue.

The TUC boss said the RTEAN also went to court and got a judgment from the National Industrial Court, which said the state government had no powers to proscribe a trade union legally registered by the Federal Government.

But in a statement on Sunday, the Lagos Government through the Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said the TUC wants to use the planned protest to “arm-twist and intimidate the government.”

Omotosho stated that the government has appealed against the judgment and has a pending application for a stay of execution of the said judgment.

The commissioner, therefore, called on the TUC and RTEAN to embrace dialogue, stating that the protest was needless and unnecessary.