The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Tuesday said it has agreed to give the Federal Government two weeks to address some of the grievances of the Congress.

A statement made by the Director, Press and Public Relations Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundu revealed that this agreement was reached in Abuja at the end of a meeting the Minister of Labour and Employment Solomon Lalong had with the leadership of the Trade Union Congress, led by its President, Comrade Festus Osifo.

According to Lalong, the issues for which a two-week timeline was set for their resolution include wage award for federal civil servants to cushion the effect of rising poverty, and tax exemption for a certain level of workers, both in the public and private sectors.
Lalong said that the other issues on the two-week timeline are to put structures in place, to ensure effective implementation of the palliatives declared by the Federal Government for the states and the FCT, and to set out the modalities for accessing the N70 billion proposed for the funding of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), among others.
The Minister also declared that after the two weeks, the meeting would reconvene for further discussions, adding that the parties understood that some of the issues were urgent, while some would require a long span of time to resolve.

According to Lalong, the parties also agreed that there would be no strike within this peace period of two weeks “while we are doing deliberations and also working towards realising some of these objectives.”

Speaking after the meeting in Abuja , the President of TUC, Festus Osifo, stated that the two-week timeline was reasonable, as it would give government ample time to address the issues.

He disclosed that at the commencement of the meeting, the leadership of TUC was pushing for a one-week timeline for the resolution of issues in dispute, but had to reconsider after weighing governments constraints, stating, “We also need to be pragmatic.” Osifo said.

The Labour leader also stated that their demands, as contained in a communique earlier issued by the Congress, include resolving the impasse between Lagos State Government and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), increasing the amount provided for palliative as the sum of N5billion allocated per state is inadequate to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians.