The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Central Working Committee (CWC) of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have called off the three-day warning strike which started yesterday.
The decision followed pleas by President Goodluck Jonathan in Tuesday’s talks with the unions’ leadership.
A communiqué issued at the end of a joint emergency meeting of the NLC and TUC said after due consideration, the unions resolved to suspend the three-day warning strike given the desired attention the issue had drawn from various organs of the government.
The communiqué was signed by Mr. Promise Adewusi, NLC Acting President, Mr. Peter Esele, TUC President, Mr. John Odah, NLC General- Secretary and Mr. John Kolawole, Secretary- General of TUC.
The communiqué said the strike would expire at midnight, (yesterday).
It also said that it had noted in particular, the role of the National Assembly in giving assurance that the matter would be given accelerated passage when brought before it.
It noted that having lost precious time on the issue of a new national minimum wage, the presidency should immediately after the meeting of the National Council of State on November 25, present a bill to the National Assembly.
It said this would fast tract the process before the unions’ meeting in the first week of December.
The communiqué also said the unions would not accept any figure less than the negotiated N18,000 in the report of the tripartite committee chaired by Justice Alfa Belgore.
“We commend those state governments who have expressed willingness to pay the negotiated salary immediately it is passed into law,’’ it added.
According to the communiqué, the unions also condemned the unprovoked shooting of the Edo State Chairman of NUATE, Mr. Ehichioya Godwin, who was shot by a policeman earlier in the day in Benin.
“We call on the Inspector General of Police to order the immediate arrest, dismissal and prosecution of the policeman who carried out this dastardly and uncivilised act,‘’ it said.
The communiqué also called on the unions’ members and their allies to stop patronising Arik Airlines for violating the strike and for attempting to facilitate the escape of the policeman who shot Godwin.
It added that the two labour centres should advise their affiliate unions to take a cue from NUPENG which has already stopped the supply of aviation fuel to Arik Airlines immediately.
Meanwhile, the Edo State Chapter of the NLC has vowed to continue with the strike on Monday, following the alleged shooting of the State Chairman of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Mr. Godwin Ehichioya at the Benin Airport, yesterday.
The police orderly shot Ehichioya ,who was trying to enforce the strike at the airport.
The orderly was alleged to have accompanied a serving female High Court judge from Delta State to the airport when the incident occurred.
The unidentified female judge was said to have come in from the neighbouring state to board an Arik plane to Lagos, prompting unionists to block her vehicle from moving near the airport entrance.
The union members, who were at the airport to monitor the progress of the strike, raised alarm over the Arik plane which had flown in from Lagos.
It was, however, not confirmed whether or not the Arik flight had passengers on board its inward flight.
The police escort, whose name could not be ascertained, was said to have brought out his weapon and fired at Ehichioya, shattering his left arm.
The police detail was said to have continued firing into the air to fend off attack and in the process, the judge’s car found its way onto the tarmac for the judicial officer to board her flight.
The workers were said to have taken over the runway, insisting that the plane would not take-off.
A high ranking police officer was said to have later prevailed on the rampaging workers to leave the tarmac.
Some workers, who spoke to The NIGERIAN OBSERVER, blamed Lagos State of the union “for allowing the flight to come to Benin in the first place”.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Edo State council of the NLC, Mr. Kaduna Eboigbodin, pronounced that workers in the state would continue with the industrial action on Monday to protest the shooting of their colleague.
“We will not let this go until justice prevails. For this, we are continuing with the strike in solidarity with our member who was shot by the police,” he said.
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