By Egena Sunday Ode
The Federal Government has said it is having useful engagements with the leadership of the organised labour over their demands, thereby ruling out the possibility of the proposed indefinite strike scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume and the Minister for Labour and Productivity, Simon Lalong spoke to newsmen separately on the issue on Wednesday at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja after meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima.
On his part, Akume said leaders of the labour unions were responsible and too patriotic to embark on any strike at the moment.
The SGF said government had taken the issue of workers’ welfare and the improvement in the standard of living of Nigerians seriously, adding that the present administration should not be judged by its few months in office.
His words: “Labour leaders are very patriotic Nigerians and we want to believe correctly that nobody will want to cause a strike. It’s not in the interest of the workers; it’s not in the interest of anybody because this government is very determined to ensure improvement in the standard of living of Nigerians to create prosperity for all.
“It’s not something that can be done overnight. This government came into being on the 29th of May and we have a tenure of four years. So it will be inappropriate for us to begin to judge on the basis of few months we have spent in the office.”
Also speaking on the deadline for the indefinite strike issued by labour, Lalong said there was no cause for alarm.
According to him, all the engagements with labour by his ministry had ended as friendly discussions and on a note of conviviality.
He, however, declined to confirm categorically if Labour had shelved the planned strike on account of his engagement, saying that “I am not the NLC President.”
He said: “As for me I don’t think there is any problem. We have fully spent time with the Nigerian labour and the posture of the President too is towards welfare and prosperity for workers. We have no doubt and that’s why many of the meetings we have with them we are not ending up boxing ourselves, we were smiling all.of us. We hope that the best is going to come.”
Asked to commemt of the strike threat by the labour unions specifically, the Minister said:
“Don’t worry about that. That’s why I said it’s a friendly engagement we are doing with them. We don’t have any fears about some of the things they put forward and also the suggestions and the package of the federal government.”
