The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), representing organized labor, have collectively decided to postpone the indefinite strike originally planned for Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
This decision comes as a result of a memorandum of understanding achieved through negotiations between the two unions and the federal government. Following the removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the Federal Government and the subsequent rise in its price, the NLC and TUC issued a strike notice, which had now expired, and they were prepared to initiate a strike on October 3, 2023.
In response, the Federal Government convened a meeting to prevent the strike, and after extensive discussions, a 15-point agreement was mutually signed by the labor leaders and government representatives.
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING REACHED BETWEEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA AND THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC) AND TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF NIGERIA (TUC) AS A RESULT OF DISPUTE ARISING FROM WITHDRAWAL OF SUBSIDY ON THE PRICE OF PREMIUM MOTOR SPIRIT (PMS) ON MONDAY, THE 2ND DAY OF OCTOBER, 2023
1.The Federal Government grants a wage award of N35,000 (thirty-five thousand Naira) only to all Federal Government workers beginning from the month of September pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.
2.A minimum wage committee shall be inaugurated within one month from the date of this agreement.
3.Federal Government suspends collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) on Diesel for six months beginning from October, 2023.
4.Federal Government accepts to vote N100 billion for the provision of high capacity CNG buses for mass transit in Nigeria. Provisions are also being made for initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits to kick start an auto gas conversion programme, whilst work is ongoing on state-of-the-art CNG stations nationwide. The rollout aims to commence by November with pilots across 10 campuses nationwide.5.The Federal Government plans to implement various tax incentive measures for private sector and the general public.
6.On the leadership crises rocking the NURTW and the purported proscription of RTEAN, the Federal Government commits to handling Labour matters in line with relevant ILO Conventions and Nigerian Labour Acts. A resolution of the ongoing impasse is expected by or before October 13.
7.The issue of outstanding Salaries and Wages of Tertiary Education workers in Federal-owned educational institutions is being referred to Ministry of Labour and Employment for further engagement.
8.The Federal Government commits to pay N25,000 per month for three months starting from October, 2023 to 15 million households, including vulnerable pensioners.11.The Federal Government commits to the provision of funds as announced by the President on the 1st of August broadcast to the Nation for Micro and Small Scale Enterprises. The MSMEs beneficiaries should commit to the principle of decent jobs.
12.A joint visitation will be made to the refineries to ascertain their rehabilitation status.
13.All parties commit to henceforth abide by the dictates of Social dialogue in all our future engagements.
14.The NLC and TUC accept to suspend for 30 days the planned Indefinite Nationwide strike scheduled to begin, Tuesday, the 3rd of October, 2023.
15.This Memorandum shall be filed with the relevant Court of competent jurisdiction within one (1) week as consent judgment by the Federal Government.
Signed:
NLC:
Comrade Joe Ajaero Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, mni
President NLC General Secretary
TUC:
Comrade (Engr) Festus Osifo, Comrade Nuhu A. Toro
President Secretary General
Federal Government:
H.E. Simon Bako Lalong
Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment