Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), a
rights group, on Monday appealed to the Organised Labour to stop its proposed
nationwide strike, stating that the National Assembly should be blamed for the
current face-off.
MURIC’s Director, Prof. Ishaq
Akintola in a statement in Lagos, urged the union to dialogue with the
government in the interest of workers and Nigerians as the strike action would
be detrimental to the masses.
According to Akintola, the same
workers and innocent members of their families are most likely to suffer the
devastating consequences of an all-out industrial action.
He said that workers’ current
poor pay cannot sustain NLC’s directive for workers to stock foodstuffs in
preparation for a long strike.
“Besides, will a general strike
not inform the evacuation of hundreds of sick Nigerians from hospital beds?
Will it not lead to an increased number of deaths of citizens who do not have
the money to access private health facilities? What will happen to accident
victims during a strike?
“Socio-economic activities will
be paralysed. Banks will remain shut and even ATM machines may soon become dry.
“This strike may turn out to be
an open invitation to hunger in the land.
“The impact on the oil sector is
expected to be severe. Oil output is likely to be affected. Oil exports which
hit 1.7 million barrels per day in October 2018 may come to a complete halt.
“It cannot be good news to stop
oil exports at a time when the price of oil has risen and it is hovering
between $76 and $80 after suffering a fall as low as $38 per barrel at the
inception of this administration.
“This is capable of wreaking
havoc on the economy. The naira will depreciate further, forcing prices of
goods to skyrocket while both imports and exports will be affected as the ports
go to sleep.
“This is why we are appealing to
the NLC leadership to consider the implications of a general strike at this
crucial time.
“By the way, is NLC certain that
an irrational pay rise resulting from a forced increase in wages will not
provoke retrenchment of workers? he asked.
“The quick recovery from the
recession was due to the prudent management of the economy by the Buhari
administration and its blockage of leakages.
“A general strike just when the
economy is starting to look good will do workers no good,’’ Akintola said.
He called on the union to hold
the National Assembly accountable for the nation’s crisis and blamed the union
for not challenging some of their negative decisions that affected the nation’s
economy.
“Positive activism demands that
NLC should show concern for the reckless and selfish actions of the 8th NASS.
“We expect NLC to strike against
legislative recklessness, not only against stomach infrastructure. A government
that is providing infrastructure and bringing back the glorious days of rail
transportation for Nigerian workers deserves NLC’s cooperation,’’ he said.
“N22.6 billion was released by
the Federal Government to pay pensioners of the Nigerian Railway Corporation
after they have been ignored for fifteen (15) years.
“A government that is paying
pensions to retirees who have been ignored for years deserves NLC’s
understanding.
“For crying out loud, those 8.5
million children who are benefiting from FG’s school-feeding programme are
children of workers. The Federal Government has so far spent N49 billion on the
project in two years. This is a government with a human face.
“We do not wish to be
misunderstood. MURIC is on the side of Nigerian workers. We also believe that
the present minimum wage of N18, 000 is unrealistic but NLC needs to time its
action appropriately and put the blame where it really belongs.
“In conclusion, we appeal to NLC
to shelve its planned strike action and go back to the negotiation table in the
interest of Nigerian workers,’’ he added.
The organised labour had
threatened to embark on an indefinite industrial action from Nov. 6 in spite of
a court order restraining the labour.
Labour is demanding
implementation of N30, 000 as new minimum wage, but the Federal Government
offered to pay workers N24, 000 and states agreed N22,500.
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