The back and front threat of industrial action by the Nigeria Labour Congress and its counterpart, Trade Union Congress, TUC have started to sound like broken records to the extent that the sympathy they enjoy hitherto has considerably ebbed
By Joshua Chiemerie
Since the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and its counterpart Trade Union Congress, TUC made known their intention to go on industrial action against the decision of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu it has been dogged by inconsistency to the extent that the masses have lost faith in the industrial action.
Investigation carried out by this medium revealed that most of the demands of the labour unions may not materialized because it is pretty difficult for the government of the day to navigate that in the midst of the economic woes that has been the signature of the nation for the past eight years that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC had been in the saddle of the affairs of the nation. Labour unions are among other things asking the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assent to wage award, purchase in large numbers CNG vehicles, resuscitating the moribund refineries as well salary increment.
The first meeting that the Labour leaders held with the Tinubu administration never yielded any fruits because most of the agreement reached at the meeting was observed in the breach by the Federal Government. The negation of the agreement gave life to the indefinite strike that has been suspended for 30 days within which to resume if Federal Government fails to honour the agreement reached at the meeting with the labour leaders.
Sidelining the labour leader in determining the best way to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy that was removed reared its ugly head when the Tinubu administration announced the salary increment for upward of six months to the tune of N35, 000.00 as against the initial N25, 000.00 contained in the Independence Day speech of President Tinubu. Explaining the incoherent coordination of the administration in churning out policies, Femi Gbajabimila, Chief of Staff to President Tinubu said the initial N25, 000.00 was changed because of the chatter on twitter, making Nigerians to wonder whether the administration’s policies is now being formulated on twitter page. It was gathered that the decision of salary increment was carried out without the input of the Labour unions thereby fuelling the speculation that the labour may be holding the short-end of the stick in the negotiation table because it has lost its biting prowess.
Economic indices show that it is going to be hard for the Federal Government to keep to the promises they have made to the Labour unions. For instance, the N35,000.00 salary award may only be enjoyed by the Federal Government workers because most of the state governments have said that they are not going to afford the money as announced by the Federal Government at the Independence Day Speech by President Tinubu. The purchase of the 1,000 CNG-powered commercial vehicles may not mature before the expiration of the 30 days given by the labour leaders to resume the indefinite industrial action.
The argument in some quarters is where the Federal Government would get the money to finance the promises that it has made to the labour unions in the country because government could barely pay for workers’ salaries. Investigation choreographed by this medium revealed that Tinubu government would not be able to afford the purchase of 100,000 CNG vehicles, and even if the government could afford it, that is not going to assuage the pangs of the excruciating pains extended to the Nigerian masses. It was gathered that even the N25,000.00 palliative that would be distributed to 15 million household in Nigeria may not work because the money with which to prosecute such project is in the realm of conjecture, and the poor data collection in the country is surely going to mess up the whole exercise. Observed some analysts, the money if released is going to end up in the pockets of APC loyalists as evidence in the similar intervention during the sorry years of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Investigation has it that Labour leaders may be at their wits end because their previous threat failed to achieve the purpose it was meant to achieve. Federal Government never revised the price of the fuel product which is the basis of the industrial action. According to the investigation, the labour unions appeared to have boxed themselves into a tight corner, making any industrial action they are going to embark on in future a child’s play.
Whatever is the case NLC and TUC might find it difficult to regain their voices if the agreement reached recently at the meeting with the administration of Tinubu collapses because majority of the masses are not keen in supporting any industrial action induced by the labour unions. The reason of the masses is simple, the labour union is not ready to bite and until that is done they have lost its integrity of being the mouthpiece of the masses.
