Nigerian labor union warns gov’t of imminent strike
Posted by African Press International on August 15, 2009
LAGOS, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — The Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) has said in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria’s Oyo state capital that the nation may relapse into another regime of nationwide strike if the current national rally by the Congress fails to persuade the government to yield to labor demands on some national issues.
Abdulwaheed Omar, NLC national president, stated this shortly before the commencement of the Southwest section of the nationwide rally organized by the congress and human rights groups.
He listed the demands to include upward review of workers’ salaries, deregulation in the petroleum sector and reforms of electoral systems.
“The government will be making a mistake if it does not respond positively to our demands which led to this peaceful rally,” the Lagos based-This Day newspaper quoted him as saying.
“This rally will not be the end of the agitation, particularly on our demands for a minimum wage that is decent enough to take care of us,” he added.
The union leader called on the government not to increase the prices of petroleum products, saying Nigerians are poor and, as a result, could not avoid a hike in the prices of the products.
He also demanded for a living minimum wage that would enable the workers to live a meaningful life.
| Editor: Mo Hong’e |
