The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has rejected the fuel subsidy removal initiative being implemented by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
OsunDaily News reports that the TUC President, Festus Osifo, made this known while addressing reporters at the end of an emergency meeting of the congress’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Friday in Abuja.
Osifo called on the Tinubu government to revert to the status quo over its decision to remove fuel subsidy as consultations with labour leaders continue on Wednesday.
The TUC leader said the expectation of the congress was that the government should have engaged organised labour before announcing an end to the subsidy regime.
He said: “Having noted this, we wish to state that the NEC-in- session resolved that discussions with Federal Government should continue while demanding that the government should revert to the status quo ante.
“The status quo ante should be maintained while discussions continue as we had a meeting with the government on Wednesday.
“During that discussion, they gave us a list of all the things they would do and they also demanded to know our thinking and what we are putting up.
“We told them the lists of the things we want to put forward, we will not submit them now but put them forward to our organs, to discuss and seek a mandate from them of the things we can put forward.”
Speaking further, Osifo remarked that it is how the government reacts to the demands of the union at the upcoming meeting that will determine the union’s next line of action.
He added: “We will wait till Sunday when we will meet with the representatives of the government.
“Once we are done with that meeting then the TUC is going to put its demands forward, it is how they react to those demands that will determine our next line of action.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress has said it will embark on a nationwide strike next week Wednesday if the issue of fuel subsidy removal and increase in the price of fuel is not reverted.
