The Nigeria Labour Congress led by Mr.
Ayuba Wabba and the Federal Government will resume the suspended talks
on the N145 fuel pump price on Wednesday (today).
The Director in charge of Press at the
Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Samuel Olowookere, said in a
statement on Tuesday that the meeting would hold by 2pm at the
Conference Hall of Office of the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation.
An invitation to the NLC to return to
the negotiation table over the contentious increase in electricity
tariff and the fuel pump price was delayed on Monday by the Ministry of
Labour as a result of a scheduled meeting with the Petroleum and Natural
Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, which served a week-old strike
notice on the government.
The NLC had called off the indefinite
strike it called to protest fuel price hike on Sunday as a result of the
intervention of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress,
Asiwaju Bola TInubu.
While the strike was on, the Minister of
Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, had said that the Federal
Government would only resume the suspended talks with the Labour leaders
if the strike was suspended.
Also, Olowookere said that the plan by
PENGASSAN to embark on a nationwide strike by the midnight of Tuesday
was suspended following the intervention of Ngige and the Minister of
State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.
He said Kachikwu briefed the
conciliatory meeting on the issue of the Joint Venture Cash Call, the
arrears of which had not been paid to the Joint Venture Partners which
made the oil firms to issue a threat to lay off workers as a result of
shortage of cash.
The minister was quoted as saying that
the Petroleum Ministry was “restructuring the operational modalities of
the Joint Venture Cash Call especially in view of the low oil prices.”
He was said to have assured the union,
the JVCC partners and other stakeholders of some positive results during
the next meeting scheduled for June.
“We all recall that this committee was
headed by the late Hon. Min. of State for Labour and Employment, Mr.
James Ocholi, but in view of the importance and the urgency of the
committee, I will assume its full leadership in June to accelerate and
bring its assignment to fruitful completion, part of which is to pass
some oil-labour regulations into laws for the Petroleum Industry Bill,”
Kachikwu was quoted as saying.
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