President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba in Abuja on Thursday, said it was ready to negotiate with the Federal Government.Wabba said this while briefing newsmen after a closed-door meeting between the leadership of the union and the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki.
He, however, said the strike would continue as the government had yet to reach out to the union for negotiation.
He said he did not walk out of any meeting with the federal government.
He added that the union had not received any formal invitation for meeting with the government since they commenced the strike.
“The Senate leadership called us to brief them about what transpired and where we are now, which we have already done.”
In essence, what we did was to try to give a preview of the process we have followed to arrive at the stalemate.
“This is also to confirm because there has been media reports that we had been invited and we refused to attend meetings. We said no, we have not received any formal invitation for any meeting. The strike is still on but we are open to dialogue,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the Wabba-led faction had embarked on industrial action since Wednesday due to the hike in fuel price from N86.50 to N145 per litre.
However, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Joe Ajaero-led NLC faction withdrew from the industrial action.
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said NLC had shown commitment for dialogue, adding that the National Assembly will play its role in resolving the crisis.
NAN recalls that Senate on Wednesday directed its committee on Labour to mediate between the government and labour unions to resolve the differences.
