The Federal Government has appealed to the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress to shelve its planned two-day warning strike scheduled to commence on Tuesday, September 5.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, made the appeal in Abuja on Monday, September 4. He argued that the strike would be detrimental to the gains already made by the FG, while promising to attend to the contending issues raised by the NLC holistically if given some time to settle into the office.

“It has become pertinent to appeal to the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to suspend its intended two-day warning strike, as such action would be detrimental to the gains already being recorded on our course to securing a greater future for Nigerian workers and citizens at large. Furthermore, I would request that the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress gives this government some time to settle and address the issues on the ground holistically.

It should be realised that the cabinet of this administration was only recently sworn in by Mr. President and all cabinet members have hit the ground running by receiving briefings from their MDAs.

Therefore, the issues raised by the leadership of the NLC are some issues that I and the Hon. Minister of State for Labour and Employment are being briefed upon. In the next few weeks, we intend to address them holistically.

Consequently, I use this opportunity to reassure Nigerian workers that this government would never take them for granted nor fail to appreciate their support and understanding.

We shall continue to pursue policies aimed at massive employment generation in all sectors of the economy as well as look into immediate challenges that have emerged from the policies of the government. We cannot do this in an atmosphere devoid of industrial peace” he said

Last week, the NLC announced plans to embark on a two-day warning strike beginning on Tuesday, September 5, in protest against the Federal Government’s failure to address the challenges being faced by Nigerians over the fuel subsidy removal. Read here.