The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its
affiliate groups have restrategised on how to
make sure the second day of their industrial
action is a huge success.
The labour unions in the country had
commenced an indefinite strike on Wednesday,
May 18, to ask for the reversal of fuel pump
price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise
known as petrol from the N145 which the
removal of fuel subsidy pegged it.
This was in spite of a court injunction
restraining them from carrying out same
action, especially after the federal government,
in a meeting with the union leaders on Tuesday
night, had agreed to have a committee to
review the fuel pump price and the minimum
wage issue.
One of the placards on display on the first day
of the industrial action.
And even when a vast majority of Nigerians
decided to ignore the industrial action and stay
at home, the protesters insisted that their
demonstration on the first day for sensitisation
of Nigerians.
To compound matters, only a handful of states
complied with the directives of NLC’s national
body as there have been reports of discord
within the caucus of the union but the union
insisted Wednesday, that their members would
storm the streets on Thursday until their
requests have been granted by the federal
government.
“There will be no work tomorrow (Thursday)
because we are all in this together and it is
because of the people that we are on the
streets.
“Believe me, we shall be more than this
number tomorrow because other members will
join us. We are not alone in this struggle, it is
about the suffering masses, the oppressed, the
downtrodden,” one of the union leaders told
NAIJ.com during the first day of the protest.
In the statement signed by Peter Ozo-Eson,
NLC’s secretary general, the union added: “No
level of comfort today or primordial sentiments
should blind us to the cruel realities of the
increase in the pump price of the petroleum
products as what we are seeing is just the
beginning.”
The unionists have since asked their members
and other Nigerians to converge at Berger
roundabout in Lagos on Thursday morning, but
there were no details from the meeting point as
at the time of putting this article up