Fuel Scarcity Prompts TUC Consultation And Threat of Strike

The Trade Union Congress said it was monitoring and engaging with stakeholders over the prolonged fuel scarcity in many parts of the country.

The situation, apart from resulting in high transport fares in many states also caused untold hardship to many Nigerians.

But addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, the National President, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Quadri Olaleye, vowed that the union might be forced to take an “emergency decision” if the situation persists after the union’s consultation.

According to him, the union might proceed on industrial action or lead a protest over the matter.

He said, “At the moment, we are watching, we are monitoring and doing some engagements for us to be able to make emergency decisions. When labour takes an emergency decision, you know what it means? It is either strike or protest.

“You can see that even what they are using to investigate the man-made problem is part of the funds made for the Nigerian workers. So we are monitoring and when it is time to take a decision we would. ”

Olaleye also revealed that the union had commenced a process of organising and mobilising workers and like-mind political actors for political alternatives to the leadership problems in Nigeria.

Olaleye said, “Having assessed our political trajectory as a country and the pains occasioned by policies of government at various levels, abuse and neglect of the country’s human and natural resources, threatening unemployment, insecurity, almost N40tn debt, devaluation of the naira, subsidy brouhaha, we have decided to play an active role in the 2023 General Elections.

“The fact that it is the political ruling class that take decisions affecting the socio-economic wellbeing of labour membership/workers is enough justification for the organised labour to get involved in politics. This is because there are very strong linkages between democracy, good governance and workers’ economic wellbeing.”

He said the union in the coming days would organise a programme on how the organised labour in Nigeria could actively participate in the democratic process and provide solutions to various perennial social-economic and political challenges in democratic governance.