NLC threatens to boycott any FG meeting on palliatives attended by minister Lalong

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to boycott any meeting with the Federal Government attended by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong.

The NLC President, Joe Ajaero made the threat at a press conference on Sunday in Abuja, where he disclosed that the union had been invited to the State House by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, on the implementation of the resolutions on subsidy removal palliatives.

He said: “Hopefully, we may meet tomorrow (today) with the Federal Government to see whether the agreement with organised labour on the fuel subsidy removal palliatives was met or not.

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“If that meeting is to be held, it will be without the Minister of Labour and Employment (Simon Lalong) because we will not be part of any meeting with the Federal Government that the Minister of Labour and Employment will attend.

“You will recall that the decision we had on the National Union of Road Transport Workers was that all parties including the police should leave the premises, pending the resolution of the dispute but that did not happen. Therefore, any meeting we will have with the Federal Government, the minister of labour and employment will not be part of it,” the labour leader vowed.

Ripples Nigeria reports that the NLC had earlier accused Lalong of giving support to a faction of the NURTW and encouraging them to conduct their own delegates conference, both zonally and nationally, in a bid to confer legitimacy on the group.

According to Ajaero, the union believed that any meeting with the minister would be a waste of time “since he appears not to be in control of issues as far labour relations are concerned.’’

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