Incessant calls for strikes can scare investors away, the Federal Government told Labour leaders on Thursday.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, appealed to them to see industrial actions as the last option.
“Issuing constant strike threats could send wrong signals to potential investors.
“This is not healthy for our business environment,” she said.
The minister spoke when she met with the leadership of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to review the agreement reached in October 2023.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is mobilising for protests over the government’s alleged failure to comply with the agreement.
But the TUC, which disagreed with the NLC on the protest, joined the minister on a tour of the Port-Harcourt refinery.
The refinery visit is one of the items listed in the 16-point agreement reached with the government.
Onyejeocha said the refinery would soon start producing two million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol and 2.2 million litres of diesel per day.
According to the minister, the refinery was 80 per cent completed.
She explained that the old plant would begin with 54,000 barrels per day, while the new plant which is currently going through its last phase of completion would begin production before the end of the year.
“The combined capacity of the two plants, when fully on stream, would produce 10 million litres of PMS per day,” Onyejeocha said in a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun.
The minister reiterated the government’s commitment to social dialogue with the labour and other stakeholders towards achieving industrial peace.
The statement reads: “During the review, the minister read each item on the memorandum of understanding.
“Among them were the payment of four out of six months on wage award, the committee of minimum wage review, payment of outstanding salaries and wages of tertiary education workers in federal-owned educational institutions, suspension of VAT on diesel, and payment of N25,000 conditional cash transfer to 3,140,819 households, including the pensioners.
“While she said the government has made a huge financial commitment to the provision of CNG buses and conversion kits, she also explained that the procurement process was slowing down the launch but measures were already in place to fast-track the process.
“The minister explained that the government has commenced a series of engagements with relevant stakeholders on tax incentives, just as the leadership crises rocking the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) have been resolved.
“Among the progress made is the subsidised distribution of fertilisers to farmers across the country, engagement with various state governments and the private sector on the implementation of wage awards for their workers, and plans to encourage Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) to create jobs and boost the economy.
“The minister said reports by organised labour and government established that the Port-Harcourt refinery is 80 per cent completed.”
TUC Secretary General, Nuhu Toro, commended the government for the progress made but differed on some of the items.
He said, for instance, that while the issue of RTEAN has been resolved, that of NURTW has not.
“You have carefully done justice to the items, and we commend you and the federal government, but we expect the fulfilment of all the agreements,” Toro said.
According to him, some of the items have not been fully implemented but from TUC’s assessment, the government has achieved 50 per cent implementation.
Toro said: “Fifty per cent is a pass mark, but we urge you to do more.
“We know there are challenges, but we are very optimistic that they could be addressed.”
The minister disagreed with the 50 per cent rating by the union, but Toro said it was a positive grade.
Deputy TUC President, Kayode Alakija, urged Onyejeocha to get more information to clear some grey areas.
He said: “We will appreciate it if you back up the VAT with empirical data.
“You said you got the information from the office of the Finance Minister.
“So, we would appreciate it if they could supply you with data on how they arrived at the information.”
