Simon Lalong, Minister of Labour and Employment, has urged the Nigeria Labour Congress to postpone its two-day warning strike, which is set to begin tomorrow.
Lalong made the request on Monday in Abuja, after Labour President Joe Ajaero’s pledge that there would be no last-minute strike suspension.
“This is now in the court of public opinion, that in all those occasions, they have asked for time to do something, they have failed to do something,” Ajaero told Arise TV News last Friday.
According to Lalong, the strike would undermine the post-subsidy progress already achieved by the federal government in addressing the welfare of Nigerians.
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Lalong pointed out that he was only recently made aware of the exchanges between the government and organised labour on the post-subsidy palliatives, following the swearing-in of ministers.
He went on to plead with the leadership of the Labour Congress to give him some time to address the concerns thoroughly.
“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,” he said.
“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.
Lalong concluded by saying that the government remains committed to creating more jobs and tackling the issues that its policies have created.
This, he further stated, can only be done in a peaceful environment, calling the NLC to call off its planned strike.
