- TUC threatens further action after August 19
- Demands cost cuts and verifiable palliatives
- Slow progress reported by TUC President
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has given the federal government in Nigeria, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a two-week ultimatum to reach an agreement on negotiations concerning the removal of fuel subsidy. If no substantial progress is made by August 19, the TUC threatens to take further action to protect the country’s workers and citizens from enduring ongoing hardships.
In addition to calling for significant reductions in the cost of governance, the TUC demands that both the federal government and states collaborate to devise verifiable and time-bound palliatives.
Comrade Festus Osifor, the President of the TUC, made this announcement during a press briefing in Abuja. He stated that the organized labor has presented their demands in three main areas, which include the adoption of alternative fuels like CNG to replace Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the provision of palliatives, and the reduction of the cost of governance.
Technical committees have been established to address various aspects of the labor’s demands. However, Comrade Osifor expressed regret that during the last meeting of the negotiating team, which took place on the previous Thursday, there was little progress achieved.
“As at today we have formed technical committees on cash transfers, on intervention fund, on reduction of cost of governance, on energy and power (developing CNG as alternative to PMS) and fixing of refineries.
“We also have technical committees on education and health and Mass Transit,” he explained.
But Osifoh said while some of the technical committees have been sitting others were yet to meet.
“Our position is that government should fast-track to ensure that action and processes are concluded to ensure that the sufferings of Nigerians are ameliorated,” he said.
According to Osifoh, the federal government had said the negotiating team has a maximum of two months to conclude all discussions so that implementation would commence and that it would not be like a situation where the committee would sit for years.
“Government gave a timeline of eight weeks, beginning from June 19, and if you do your calculation, eight weeks is going to end by August 19.
“So far we have stayed more than one month and we felt that we are not going at the speed we anticipated we want the government to fast tract action to ensure that between now and the next two weeks all the committees must have submitted their report so that the Presidential Steering Committee can conclude its work immediately because we cannot continue to blow big, big grammar while Nigerians are suffering and people are trekking long distances to work,” he said.
The TUC president said the elected leaders would need to show examples in view of the harsh economic conditions the country is facing presently.
He added that such an example would be better seen in the way of reduction in cost governance and by having the members of the Executive and Legislature pruning the huge budget expended on their welfare.