FG, organized labour meeting over petrol, electricity tariff increase postponed to Monday

The change in date is to allow the federal government to consult properly on the pump price of petrol with organized labour insisting on the reversal of the price.

According to a report from Channels Television, this decision was reached after both parties had reconvened on Thursday evening, days after it was said the labour leaders walked out of an earlier meeting with the federal government on the same issue.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, while addressing the meeting in Abuja, said, what happened on Sunday was not a walkout but a recess and that both the government and the labour unions were working on making the country better.

While giving assurances that the government would make sure that resolutions reached would be for the benefit of the Nigerian people, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, thanked the labour leaders for their show of patriotism, stressing that what happened on Sunday was a recess and not a breakdown of discussions.

Ajaero, who represented the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, who was absent at the meeting, disagreed with the remarks of the labour minister and the SGF that the last meeting was a recess, insisting that it did not end peacefully.

Other government officials present at the meeting include the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo; the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Farouk.

The News had reported that the organized labour had suspended their planned nationwide strike and protest in September following an agreement reached with the Federal Government in which the new petrol pump price should remain unchanged and a 2-week suspension of electricity tariff.

They also agreed to set up a technical committee on electricity tariff reforms to look at the justification of the new policy in view of the need for the validation of the basis for the new cost-reflective tariff.

However, following another increase in petrol price a few weeks ago, the NLC criticized the government’s action and said it was a breach of an agreement with the government during their previous negotiations.

While saying that the union will not accept such arbitrary increases in the petrol pump price, the NLC President asked the government to revert to the old price.