NLC Accuses Labour Minister Lalong of Breaching MoU In NURTW Crisis

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused the Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, of breaching some of the terms of agreement that culminated in the suspension of strike.

The General Secretary of the NLC, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja stated this in a statement on Thursday.

He accused Lalong of taking sides with a factional union of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

Ugboaja lamented that the factional union is bent on sabotaging the recently ratified agreement between the Labour movement and the federal government.

The NLC wondered how a Federal Minister of Labour, tasked with safeguarding the rights and interests of diverse stakeholders in the economy, would take actions that could undermine the very foundations of collective engagement.

He described Lalong’s action as clearly morally reprehensible and legally untenable, saying it marks a disheartening departure from the expected standards of conduct within the nation’s industrial relations sphere.

The statement read in part, “In a shocking turn of events, the Federal Minister of Labour, Mr. Lalong, has thrown a spanner in the wheel of the implementation of the Labour – Federal Government Agreement by his unmasked partiality in handling a critical item in the agreement which is the apparent Government meddling in Trade Union matters by siding with people, who had illegally seized the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) headquarters with police support.

“This group is now being encouraged to conduct its own Delegates’ Conference, both zonally and nationally to confer legitimacy to their action. This flagrant act not only constitutes an egregious intrusion into the internal affairs of a union, in violation of ILO Conventions 87 and 98, but also represents a clear attempt to sabotage the recently ratified agreement between the Labour movement and the federal government.

“Despite initial assurances from the Minister regarding the illegal occupation of the NURTW’s National Headquarters, the democratically elected leadership, led by Comrade Tajudeen Baruwa, has not been reinstated. Instead, the Minister has chosen to endorse and legitimize this hijacking with the State’s backing.

This blatant power grab, subverting legality and moral integrity, is an affront to the principles of democratic governance.”