News:
October 21, 2013
Deputy Information Minister, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed is appealing to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to reconsider its decision to embark on a nationwide strike if the recent tariff increment is not revised.
Organized labour led by TUC issued a ten day ultimatum to government and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to revise the 78.9 and 50 percent increments in electricity and water respectively.
The ultimatum ends Tuesday October 22, 2013 and already some labour unions across the country have expressed their readiness to join their mother organization in the strike.
But speaking to CitiNews, Murtala Mohammed said threats and strikes are not appropriate solution to the problem.
According to him, it will not be in the interest of government and the TUC to have incessant labour unrest in the country.
“I don’t think that the issue of threats and demonstration and strikes will help any of us” he added.
The Deputy Information Minister maintains that government is concerned about the plight of public sector workers and will do anything possible to find an amicable solution to the problem.
Murtala Mohammed said the only way we can find a solution to these challenges is to have continuous dialogue.
“I can only appeal to the leadership of TUC and labour union exercise patient and let us exhaust the process of dialoguing”.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the TUC is meeting to decide the next line of action as their ultimatum ends tomorrow.