By Chuks NZEH
The leadership of the organised labour on Monday stood by its plans to make good its threat of embarking on indefinite strike early Tuesday.
General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, in a joint statement with the Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Nuhu Toro,
directed all affiliates of the unions nationwide to down tools by midnight.
The directive comes amid reports of a purported court order obtained by the Federal Government to stop the strike action.
NLC and TUC insist that the strike action is to protest the brutalisation of the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, in Owerri, Imo State, during a botched workers protest.
The statement directed all affiliate unions to implement the resolutions of the joint National Executive Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, which held earlier Monday.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the TUC President, Festus Osifo, said the strike would remain until government at all levels wake up to their responsibility.
“We demanded that the Area Commander that led the Police to carry out the brutalization should be relieved his duties and prosecuted. We asked also that Governor Hope Uzodinma’s SA on Special Duties, Chinasa Nwaneri, who every knew led the touts should also be arrested and prosecuted. Our list of demands is in the public domain.
“We gave an ultimatum that initially expired Wednesday last week. But on the eve of that expiration, we had a joint session of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria. We looked at the time we gave and felt as responsible pan Nigeria organisations, that we should give additional one week to see if the government will be responsive.
“And in order to further draw the attention of government we had the picketing session last week Thursday but instead if government to come out strongly to condemned this criminality, instead of government to speak and stand on the side of justice, some people in government were rather running their mouth and making all kinds of statement.
“So the two labour centre have resolved to stand firmly by the decision of the joint National Executive Council meeting that was held last week Tuesday, that effective from 12 midnight on the 14th of November, we shall declare a nationwide strike. So effective midnight today, a nationwide strike is going to commence.
“All affiliates of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and Nigeria Labour Congress, all State Councils of the two labour centres have been mobilized adequately. And this is going to be indefinite until government at all levels wake up to their responsibility. This is the decision of the joint NEC of NLC and TUC and we are got to carry it out to the later,” Osifo said.