The Nigeria Labour Congress on Friday insisted that the proposed mass rallies slated for Wednesday next week would go on as scheduled.
While saying that there was no going back, the NLC also denied having any deal with the Federal Government to shelve the protest as claimed by government.
Labour had during the May Day celebrations said that it would embark on a nationwide strike to compel government to consider the issue of the proposed minimum wage as well as the adoption of the full report on the electoral reforms as recommended by the Electoral Reforms Committee chaired by Justice Muhammad Uwais.
The NLC also said that the planned protest was also aimed at compelling the FG to rescind its decision on the deregulation of the downstream oil sector.
However, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, had on Thursday while fielding questions from journalists in Abuja said there was no justification for the planned nationwide protest.
Kayode was quoted to have said that most of the issues for which labour was planning to stage the protest were issues already being addressed by the government.
In a statement by the Head of Information, NLC Mr. Lakemfa Owei, the congress debunked some of these claims. It said that NLC’s demand for the formation of a tripartite committee comprising labour, employers and government on the issue of the proposed N52, 000 minimum wage, was yet to be acceded to.
It said, “The NLC in a letter to the Secretary to the government of the Federation on December 3, 2008 asked Government as a matter of urgency to establish a tripartite committee composed of labour, employers and government representation to negotiate a new minimum wage, is yet to be done.”
While insisting that the nationwide protest would hold as scheduled, the NLC reaffirmed that the issue of pay rise for workers in the country was very sacrosanct and could not be traded away.
It said the call for the pay rise was fundamental given the spiralling inflation and excruciating poverty which had made it impossible for workers to meet their basic needs.
The congress also denied having any agreement with government on the deregulation of the oil sector, explaining that the recurrent petroleum products scarcity which had led to long queues, high costs of kerosene and diesel had given credence to labour’s position that government’s moves to deregulate the sector would lead to mass suffering, closure of factories and the pauperisation of the populace.
On the electoral reforms, NLC said it agreed in totality with Justice Uwais report, particularly the section that stripped government of the power to appoint the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Chairman.