Details Of Meeting Between FG And Organised Labour Emerge

The details of the Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government and Organised Labour meeting over the ongoing nationwide strike have emerged.

Naija News earlier reported that the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, and other government officials had met with labour leaders to address the national industrial action.

The meeting comes after Ribadu had said the attackers of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, have been arrested and appealed to labour unions to call off the strike.

Speaking at the end of the meeting with reporters, the President of TUC, Festus Osifo, who led other labour leaders to the meeting, said they had a robust conversation with the government officials.

He added that a lot of assurances were given in furtherance to the statement by the NSA that some people had been apprehended and that he would coordinate the investigation.

The TUC president added that the promises made by the government officials would be taken to their respective organs, and they would communicate accordingly.

He said: “We just came here for a meeting. NSA invited us for a meeting, and as you can see, two ministers from the Ministry of Labour and Employment also participated.

“We had a lot of robust conversations where a lot of assurances were given in furtherance to the release that the NSA issued this morning, that some people had been apprehended, and that he would coordinate the investigation.

“We also told him our part of the story. At the end of the day, they made several appeals to us and several promises on what and what they are going to do and the ones they have done currently.

“We then said, let’s go back; we will re-appraise the conversations that we’ve had, and we will communicate accordingly. The strike was caused by something. The strike is a symptom of problems, so it is the problems we came here for, to have conversations on.

“With all the assurances they have given us, with the office of the NSA promising to coordinate everything, every discussion we’ve had here, we need to take it back to our organs.”

Osifo was flanked by the NLC Secretary-General, Emmanuel Ugboaja; TUC Secretary-General, Nuhu Toro; and other labour leaders.

Also addressing journalists, Lalong said the meeting was held at the office of the NSA because of the security considerations associated with the strike and its genesis.

He said the two sides had frank, fruitful and genuine discussions on steps that the government has taken to address the concerns of labour over the incident in Imo State.

Lalong said the government officials were okay with labour leaders’ stance that they would take the outcome of the meeting back to their members and consider the plea of the government to call off the strike in the interest of the nation.

He was flanked by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyeajeocha; Acting Permanent Secretary of the Labour Ministry, Emmanuel Igbinosa, and the Director of Trade Union Services.