Govt wants court to stop workers' strike
- Labour returns to palliatives panel, insists on protest
From Emmanuel Onwubiko and Alifa Daniel (Abuja) Wole Shadare, Yetunde Majekodunmi, and Odita Sunday (Lagos)
THE Federal Government has asked the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division to stop the indefinite national strike planned to begin on Tuesday next week by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the recent increases in fuel prices.
The Labour leadership, which disclosed yesterday that it had returned to the Senator Ibrahim Mantu-led panel on palliatives to the fuel prices, continued its drumbeats of war over the dispute.
The government's prayers on the strike are to be heard at the Appeal Court tomorrow. A process filed in the higher court, endorsed by the government's leading lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola, was made available to The Guardian last night. It has NLC President Adams Oshiomhole and the Labour organisation as respondents.
The NLC had proceeded to the court to appeal an earlier judgment of Justice Roseline Ukeje of the Federal High Court that the Labour could not call its members out on strike over issues that are not related to employment. She also declared the office of the NLC president void.
The government, in the fresh application, is accusing the Labour of disobeying Ukeje's judgment by the planned strike.
The NLC is billed to meet today in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on the planned strike. Oshiomhole yesterday in an interview with The Guardian faulted a statement credited to the Labour Minister, Dr. Hassan Muhammad that any worker who joins the palnned strike would be sacked.
As at yesterday, a groundswell of support was being built for Labour by Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Electric Network.
Oshiomhole who was at yesterday's meeting of the Independent Consolidation Committee on Cushioning Measures, disclosed the NLC returned to the fold because of the review of the terms of reference of the committee by President Olusegun Obasanjo in a letter to the committee .
Mantu had disclosed last week that the President had written to say the issue of a "permanent price" to petroleum products could be fashioned out by the committee.
"We are back here because of new developments... we are convinced that it is worth it to deal with the platform to deal with the issue as soon as possible. We embark on strike not because we like it but because we feel the pain at the end of the day, Nigerians want a change in price of petroleum products," Oshiomhole said.
The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Dr. Peace Obiajulu shared Oshiomhole's position for a price reversal. "We are here because pricing should be discussed but that does not rule out next week's strike on Tuesday. Something tangible should come out from the President (Obasanjo) or the strike will go on... Labour believes in democracy, dialogue and negotiation. We hope that the immediate issue of pricing will be out by Monday," she added.
But the chairman of the committee, Mantu, maintained that the palliatives panel was not a negotiating committee with Labour.
The Head of the Congress of Free Trade Unions of Nigeria (CFTU), Mr. Princewill Onyekachi assured that Labour would do its best to ensure the success of the committee, adding that it was difficult to demobilise workers after they had been mobilised.
He urged the government to use the next few days to come up with an acceptable solution that would avert next week's strike.
Yesterday, PENGASSAN directed its members to join the indefinite strike come November 16.
And in Lagos, a group, Electic Network, led by Revered Moses Iloh, dipped its pain in Biblical venom to condemn the attitude of the Obasanjo Administration over fuel prices and allied matters as "Satanic".
At the end of the emergency meeting of its Central Working Committee yesterday PENGASSAN made the following resolutions:
- as affiliate of TUC, PENGASSAN members are hereby directed to proceed on indefinite strike from November 16, 2004.
- zonal chairmen have been directed to call their zonal councils and brief them accordingly on the decisions reached.
- members are advised to wait for further directives as shall be guided by unfolding events.
- branches that fail to comply with directives given will be sanctioned accordingly.
On the part of Eclectic Network, a statement signed by its president, Iloh declared:
"What is about to take place commencing from November 16, 2004 is not a strike action; it is a crying aloud by the oppressed. It is a howling and groaning in great pains against tyranny. It is a protest action against man's inhumanity to man!"
According to the statement, the strike action is legitimate and should be supported by all well-meaning citizens.
It called for total support at all costs," the statement which also had the signature of the Lagos State Chapter, Chairman of the Network, Kunle Olaiya added.
According to the group, the protest is absolutely timely and necessary in the overall interest of the downtrodden Nigerians who it said, are the true owners of this country."
"The fraudulent and heartless tyrants cause the poor to cry and die so that the chronic and unrepentant muggers might continue to be rich waiting for year 2007 to continue their heinous crime of mismanagement, stealing and killing."
The group alleged that: President Olusegun Obadanjo's method of turning the economy round is evil and most inhuman.
Said they: "This method of deregulation or privatisation of the downstream or upstream is destructive and murders the poor. It is uncompassionate and uncharitable and therefore satanic.
The Federal Government, the group added, has compelled the poor and oppressed to cry to their God, the Creator of crude oil "and He will hear them"
The group asserted that the "no going back" language of the present government is the language of Hitleri.
Ending on a prophetic note, the state declared: "The Lord is about to respect the poor in Nigeria cry! cry! and cry! Stage the protest and do not tire, nor count the cost because the end will be honourable."
At the end of the meeting of the Central Executive Committee of NUATE, the National President, Imonitie Itua said: "We are totally in support of the November 16 total strike, and we are determined to ensure compliance in the aviation industry, unless government decides to do what the people want.
"The CEC meeting threw its full weight behind the proposed nationwide industrial action by a coalition of labour and civil society organisations over the hike in the prices of petroleum products and directed all aviation workers to obey the stay at home order of the coalition."
According to him, the leadership of the union is not afraid of even losing their jobs in the struggle. "We do not mind losing our jobs, the people in the country have rejected the present administration, and we no longer want them to rule us again," he said.
He made this statement in response to the threats by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Hassan Lawal, that any worker who takes part in the strike would not only lose this salary but could be sacked.
On the state of the aviation industry, Itua called on the "President Olusegun to beam his searchlight on the quality and practical usefulness of the kind of advice and recommendations the Ministry of Aviation places at his disposal."
The union asked for a review of what had been done in the last five years by the ministry officials in the industry and give serious consideration to objective, patriotic and informed expert opinions on aviation matters. They also cautioned the Federal Government to watch what was happening at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), stating that if care was not taken, the parastatals might collapse as Nigeria Airways did.
"This is so because of the unparalleled and unrestrained plunder of its resources through policies forced down on the management by the supervising ministry officials in areas such as reckless award of multiple contracts, granting of unfavourable concessions and recruitment and deployment of top officers by the ministry on behalf of FAAN without consultation with the management," the union said.`
