NLC Strike Was Avoidable, Says CSJ

In Delta, Abysmal Compliance Recorded

There was abysmal compliance, yesterday with the warning strike action embarked upon by the NLC in Delta State.

Although some workers stayed away, others were seen milling around the federal and state secretariats Asaba discussing in clusters.

One of the workers, who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity, expressed disgust with what he described as poor coordination of the strike action in the state.

Whereas the workers were denied access to the secretariats in compliance with the NLC directive, some banks, though locked up their gates, attended to their customers through the back door.

In Warri axis, scores of workers were prevented from entering the port premises at the Nigerian Ports Authority, Warri by officials of the NLC. The NLC Officials were clad in white polo shirts and white face caps. There was no placards or overt demonstrations, even though there was palpable anxiety.

However, Chairman of Delta chapter of NLC, Goodluck Ofobruku, said the compliance was high noting that, "you must not forget that we have NLC and TUC. NLC is controlling 90 per cent of the Unions and TUC, 10 per cent.

"The 90 per cent of the unions that are under the NLC have shutdown. Maybe only the fee people around government offices are TUC people", he said.

Strike Paralyses Business Activities in Rivers

Business activities were partially paralysed in parts of Rivers State yesterday due to the NLC two-day warning strike.

Court premises, some Banks, filling stations, federal agencies and other commercial institutions in the state capital and its environs were shut down in compliance with the warning strike.

However, a staff of one of the state-owned media organisations, who pleaded anonymity noted that Rivers witnessed about 50 percent compliance.

"On the level of compliance, I can tell you that Rivers State recorded over 50 percent compliance. If the state chapter of NLC had also issued its directive like the national body to its affiliate bodies, I am not sure you could have seen anybody around the secretariat and some other strategic places".

In his reaction to the action, the south-south zonal chairman of the Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO), Karl Chinedu said the rights group was not convinced with the position of the NLC to embark on the warning strike.

Chinedu said Nigerians were fully aware that the President Bola Tinubu government was “anti-masses,” wondering why NLC should always keep talking about the welfare of only workers when millions of Nigerians were dying of poverty occasioned by the hardship resulting from the policies of this government.

He said the strike should focus on forcing government to fix the four refineries which had been grounded over the years thereby causing Nigerians untold hardship.

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has said the industrial action embarked upon by the NLC could have been prevented with sincere government action after the removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the naira.

In a statement issued yesterday, the CSJ acknowledged the significance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's policy reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, however highlighting Tinubu's lack of proactivity in devising measures to ameliorate the attendant hardship arising from these policy pronouncements.

According to the Lead Director of CSJ, Eze Onyekpere, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu missed the tidal waves of support in favour of his two main policy reforms – the fuel subsidy removal and the floatation of the Naira – by not taking proactive measures to arrest the hardships resulting from the reforms.

“The expectation was that President Tinubu would announce the cushioning interventions alongside the reform policies, and such interventions were not to be futuristic but to kick in before or immediately with the reform pronouncements. Regrettably, this has not been the case.

“For example, the proposed increase in workers' salaries, which has been pending for three months now, remains unresolved in a country where the minimum wage is thirty thousand naira ($39.04) per month. This starkly contrasts with fellow African nations such as Algeria, South Africa, and Morocco, where the minimum wage is $170, $242, and $360, respectively.”