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Subsidy Negotiation: Labour Rejects Gbadabiamila, Demands Meeting With Tinubu

Published

1 year ago

Aug 9, 2023.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the organised labour has rejected the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, as the head of the Federal Government’s team that will negotiate with the labour unions on subsidy removal palliatives.

The labour leaders made the decision during a meeting with the Senate leadership on Tuesday.

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They said that Gbajabiamila has been too busy to call for a meeting and that President Tinubu’s wage award committee has yet to sit almost two months after the fuel subsidy removal.

The labour leaders also lamented the plight of Nigerians as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy.

They said that the government had yet to put structures on the ground to ameliorate the effect in the country.

They told the lawmakers that while labour leaders were still deliberating on N537 per litre of fuel and Court had ruled for the status quo to remain, the government suddenly decided to increase the fuel to N620 per litre.

The labour leaders also expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s palliative measures, saying that they were not enough to cushion the effect of the fuel price increase on Nigerians.

They demanded that the government provide more buses and improve the railway system to reduce the burden on commuters.

They also called for the implementation of the new minimum wage and the release of the N30,000 promised to each beneficiary of the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme.

The Senate leadership assured the labour leaders that they would meet with the president and get the problems solved in a few days time.

In his response, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, appreciated the organised labour for their patience and understanding to assist the government.