*Labour says govt’s offers inadequate
*FG begs for shelving of planned protest
By Egena Sunday Ode
The federal government negotiating team and representatives of the organised labour have failed to reach agreement on the provision of pallaitives to cushion the harsh effects of fuel subsidy removal.
This is happening barely 24 hours to the commencement of a scheduled nationwide protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC.
Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who is leading the federal government team told newsmen after the meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday that the interventions so far proposed by President Bola Tinubu were highlighted to the Labour team with a caveat that there were just the baseline.
He said he, therefore, appealed to labour to suspend the protest billed to begin today.
But on their part, the organised labour is insisting that the offers by government as announced by President Bola Tinubu in a national broadcast on Monday were grossly inadequate.
The TUC President, Festus Osifo, speaking on the outcome of the meeting said since the President had announced that a whopping on trillion Naira was save from subsidy removal in just two months, government could do better than what it had offered as palliatives.
He cited the proposed procurement of 3000 buses announced in the broadcast and noted that if that number is distributed to the 36 state and the FCT, it will pail into insignificance.
His words: “Again, the government team told us that what the President has put on the table, it’s more or less like a starting point, and it’s a baseline.
“So we on our path also said yes, that we would not be surprised if that is everything that will be put forward because for us, we said that there are some gaps. For us, we felt that the President has said that N1 trillion has been saved in the last two months that what has been proposed is not far-reaching. And that for us, now as part of the principle of negotiation, when anything is put on the table, you’ll accept but you’ll push for more. So on our path, we’ve said that what you have put on the table is not sufficient, is not enough, and that they can do more.
“Part of what we put forward was that, we’ll look at those things that Mr President highlighted and some of the things they have also mentioned.
“We think for example, that 3000 buses are not sufficient. By the time you divide 3000 by 37, you will see how many they would come up to. So it’s not sufficient, is grossly inadequate. Then we also think as well that some of the measures put on the table are not far-reaching.
“So we are also going to demand for what we think will do. So if we think 30,000, 40,000 buses could do it in the immediate, yes, we’ll push it forward.”
On the planned protest, he said: “Then on the government part, you ask something about the protests, yes they also appealed that we should shelve the protest. Our response was that we are going to go back this evening and also have a conversation around that and you will hear from us at the end of that conversation.”
On the issue of minimum wage, Osifo said labour had recommended to the federal government consider wage award as some states are already doing.
