President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has accused labour unions of harming the very people they claim to represent.
Onanuga also alleged the labour unions’ industrial action was politically motivated, pointing out that many affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are supporters of the Labour Party (LP).
The president’s spokesperson disclosed this in a statement on Monday, while reacting to the organised labour declaration of a nationwide strike, which began today, over demands for a new minimum wage among others.
The Guardian reports that organised labour had declared a nationwide strike over a proposed new minimum wage after a meeting between the tripartite committee on national minimum wage and representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its Trade Union Congress (TUC) failed to reach an agreement on a new minimum wage and the reversal of the recent hike in electricity tariffs.
However, Onanuga said the union logically bears ill will and grudges against the Tinubu administration.
He also added that the issues raised by the labour unions cannot be resolved through blackmail or sabotage, stating that the strike could have an impact on the nation’s healthcare system.
Onanuga said, “It’s saddening that Labour could go to this extreme. But it is not surprising to the perceptive mind. Labour is harming the Nigerian people they claim to be fighting for,” Onanuga said.
“Today, many sick Nigerians cannot access medical care at government hospitals. Not even those with critical medical conditions.”
“It appears Labour is playing politics by other means. Many of the affiliates of the two central unions, the NLC and TUC, are members and supporters of the Labour Party.
“They logically bear ill will and grudges against the Tinubu administration. Otherwise, the issue they claim to be fighting for cannot be resolved by blackmail or sabotage; they cannot even be resolved unilaterally by the Federal Government; the Labour leaders will still have to return to the negotiating table.”
Meanwhile, the federal government had appealed to organised labour to reconsider its planned indefinite strike set to commence today, Monday, June 3.
While the unions are pushing for a new minimum wage of N494,000, the Nigerian government is offering N60,000.
The FG, through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, says the sum of N494,000 national minimum wage being demanded by organised labour, which cumulatively amounts to the sum of N9.5 trillion, is capable of destabilising the economy and jeopardising the welfare of over 200 million Nigerians.
In a last-minute effort to avert the strike, leaders of the National Assembly met with representatives of organised labour yesterday. However, the meeting ended in a deadlock, with labour unions insisting on going ahead with the strike.
Speaking after the meeting, TUC President Comrade Festus Osifo said that the strike could not be called off without consulting union members.
He said, “It is difficult and, in fact, impossible for us as labour leaders to call off the strike here. We need to communicate with our various organs, meaning that the industrial action starts on Monday as planned.”
