JUST IN: NLC declares nationwide strike

Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, has directed that public sector workers in the country go on strike beginning next Wednesday.

He also directed that affiliate unions of the Nigeria Labour Congress be ready for picketing exercises at all Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, branches nationwide.

The directive followed an earlier ultimatum issued by NLC Central Working Committee members last week criticizing the Federal Government’s cash swap policy.

Ajaero stated that the decision to picket CBN branches became necessary because the Federal Government and the CBN have shown no commitment to resolving the situation.

He lamented that, despite the Supreme Court’s order allowing the old N500 and N1000 notes to circulate alongside the new notes until December 31, this year, the situation appears to be deteriorating as workers are unable to pay for transportation to work or buy food for their families.

Briefing reporters on Wednesday at the headquarters of NLC, the apex Labour union also criticised the pricing irregularities in the petroleum sector, which was also a cause for concern.

“Last week, we gave an ultimatum for the review of the cash crunch bedeviling the country, but we have discovered to our dismay that as at this moment not much effort has been made to ameliorate the situation, the government is still foot-dragging on these issues we raised.

“Based on this, we met again this morning to review our position and resolved that by Wednesday next week, all CBN branches will be picketed.

“Workers are directed to stay at home too because people cannot eat, workers can no longer go to the office, we have been pushed to the wall, we have decided to take our destiny in our hands, we have mobilised our workers for this exercise,” Ajaero stated.