Dipo Olowookere
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have been accused of planning to trigger civil unrest in the country with the nationwide strike is commenced on Tuesday, November 14, 2023.
On Monday, the organised labour unions in the country asked their affiliates to embark on an industrial action despite a restraining order issued last week by Justice Benedict Backwash Kanyip of the National Industrial Court.
The action of the labour unions is coming after the leader of the NLC, Mr Joe Ajaero, was beaten in Owerri, Imo State, some days ago during a protest against an alleged unfair treatment of workers by the state government.
Today, several associations under the two labour unions adhered to the nationwide strike directive, crumbling business activities in some parts of the country.
Reacting to this development, the presidency, through a statement signed by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said the industrial action was not in the interest of the nation, pointing out that it was an attempt by the union leaders to blackmail the government.
Below is the full statement;
We notice with dismay the decision by the Nigerian Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress to call out workers to commence a strike action from midnight, despite a restraining order issued last week by Justice Benedict Backwash Kanyip of the National Industrial Court.
This decision by the NLC and TUC other than being an ego tripping move is clearly unwarranted. It is an attempt to blackmail the government by the leadership of the NLC.
We are still at a loss as to why the NLC and TUC decided to punish a whole country of over 200million people over a personal matter involving the NLC President, Mr Joe Ajaero, whose error of judgment led to assault on him in Owerri while he was planning to incite the workers in Imo State into a needless strike.
While the Federal government does not condone any form of violence and assault on any citizen of Nigeria regardless of his or her social and economic status, it is on record that the Inspector General of Police has ordered investigation into what happened to Mr Ajaero while the Commissioner of Police in Imo State under whose watch the incident happened has been transferred out of the state.
Calling out workers on a national strike over a personal issue of a labour leader despite a clear court order against any industrial action amounts to an abuse of privilege. Power at any level should never be used to settle personal scores. Rather, it should be used to promote collective progress and advance national interest.
Our national economy and social activities should not suffer because of the personal interest of any labour leader.
This flagrant disobedience to court order and lack of respect for the judiciary should not be what the organised Labour would champion.
The labour movement has always been a champion of rule of law and respect for the judiciary. It is a sad irony that the current labour leaders have shown disdain and utter disregard for court order.
We reiterate that this strike action is illegal, immoral, unjustifiable and irresponsible. What the strike notice issued Monday night after official hours suggests is it’s designed for a sinister and hidden agenda to cause undue hardship and cause civil disturbance in our country. This is unacceptable.
