The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have announced the extension of their strike ultimatum it earlier issued the federal government by two more weeks, after consulting with their affiliate unions over the new naira policy.
The decision was revealed on Tuesday, after a meeting with the National Executive Council members.
Recall that the NLC had issued an ultimatum to go on strike beginning from Wednesday, nationwide, part of which was a plan to picket the various branches of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
It’s uncertain, however, whether the decision to add another two weeks to the ultimatum was influenced by a meeting called by Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, between the NLC leadership and CBN, as earlier reported by ADULAWO NEWS.
Joe Ajaero, the president of the NLC, acknowledged that the cash crisis situation had significantly eased, but said they still needed to monitor the compliance of cash disbursement through the commercial banks for another two weeks.
President of the TUC, Festus Osifo also corroborated Ajaero’s position, saying there was need to benchmark the government, not just concerning scarcity of cash but the challenges associated with fuel products and unending queues, including electricity tarrif.
Osifo said CBN had erred in eroding the confidence of the people regarding their monetary policy, hence they need to restore the confidence within the two weeks grace period.