Joseph Arunke
18 August 2012, Sweetcrude, ABUJA – THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, said it has concluded arrangements to call workers in the country out on industrial action in solidarity with workers of the Power holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, who, it said, were being unfairly treated by the Ministry of Power over their demand that the right things be done before the planned privatisation of the PHCN by the government.
It said it had set up strike mobilisation committees across the country preparatory to the planned strike which it said, would commence immediately if there was deadlock in their meeting with the government on Wednesday, next week.
The NLC which addressed the press Friday, in Abuja, through its Acting President, Promise Adewumi and Acting General Secretary,
Chris Uyot respectively, on the impasse in negotiation between the workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria and the Federal Government, accused the government of being insincere in settling the dispute.
The union said the Federal government reneged on the workers’ demand that soldiers should be sent away from the PHCN facilities as well as immediate payment of July salary to all PHCN workers for genuine negotiation to commence.
It said it was not ready to accept any excuse from the government if the next meeting billed for Wednesday does not address its demands immediately.
Labour also urged the Federal Government to create the enabling environment for a meaningful dialogue just as it asked the government to call the Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji to order, saying the minister has resorted to negative utterances against the workers.
“We call on the Federal Government to do the needful by creating the enabling environment for a meaningful dialogue to resolving the issues by calling the Minister of Power to order, withdrawing soldiers from PHCN offices nationwide, and setting up a high powered committee to sincerely address the legitimate concerns of the PHCN workers,” it said
