By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The chairman of the Cross River State branch of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Monday Ogbodum, has lambasted the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, for rushing to call workers out on a two-day warning strike, insisting that the strike was uncalled for.
Describing the NLC action as insensitive, Ogbodum said that strike should have been the last option to resolving an issue which ought to have been resolved following due process.
The state TUC chairman, who doubles as the state chairman of senior civil servants averred that TUC is not in support of the two-day strike as due process was not followed.
Ogbodum made the statement in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Tuesday in Calabar after the NLC asked workers in the state to down tools for two days.
The TUC chairman said, “For due process to be followed, we have two weeks, we have 10 days and perhaps seven days ultimatums before finally dragging workers out or shutting down the system.
“We are aware that Nigerians are suffering, but then strike isn’t the ultimate. The TUC had been on top of the situation, interfacing with the Federal Government.
“Dialogue is the key thing. It was through dialogue that the leadership of the NLC, TUC and the Federal Government arrived at palliatives of N5 billion to the states.
“We are talking of rehabilitation of the refineries, it is not going to be a one day thing. The President had made a pronouncement that refineries will be put in place on or before December 2023.
“Labour is insensitive, that is why we are calling on our members not to participate in the strike.
“We were just out from one day protest; through the protest we were able to let the Federal Government know that Nigerians are suffering.
“We expected that NLC should have given some time before embarking on the strike.
“If due process are not followed, that alone can create opportunity for the government to proceed to Industrial
Arbitration Court to get injunction which restrains the workers from proceeding on strike.”
The TUC chairman stated that the Congress had not been bought over, contrary to accusations that they had been bought over by the Federal Government, insisting, “We are the engine room of government, we reason together with government, especially when negotiation is ongoing.”
Ogbodum stated that all the Congress has done is not to pave way for the Federal Government to seek help from the Industrial Court, adding that in 2021, it called out it’s members for one month strike in Cross River State, only to end up signing a Memorandum if Understanding, MoU, that was never implemented by the government.
The TUC chairman said, “Today we are still talking about MoU. So, strike isn’t the ultimate. It should be the last resort, that is if negotiation fails or when the Federal Government says it can’t do what it is supposed to do.”
