By JOAN NWAGWU

The Federal Government has assured its commitment to expedite full implementation of the 16-point agreement reached with organised labour.

Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Minister of State for Labour and Employment gave the assurance at a news conference on Friday in Abuja.

It would be recalled that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), issued a 14- day ultimatum to the federal government to implement all the agreement reached on Oct.2, 2023.

Reacting to the ultimatum, Onyejeocha said the federal government acknowledged the challenges faced by Nigerians and had demonstrated sincerity in its ongoing negotiations with the trade unions.

“We wish to reassure Nigerians that this government is fully committed to honouring its obligations to workers and the less privileged in Nigeria.

“We will ensure the complete implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) we entered into with Organised Labour.

“Our word is our bond. I can confidently say that President Bola Tinubu’s administration stands firmly with the people.

“The President is tirelessly working to ensure that everything is done to address the needs and concerns of the nation,”she said.

The minister also assured government’s commitment to maintaining open and constructive communication with labour,

She said such communication would foster positive labour relations and guarantee a supportive working environment for all workers.

The Minister, however noted: “You will agree with me that negotiations are often a gradual process, with resolutions unfolding in stages.

“For example, the N35,000 wage award agreed upon between the government and organised labour is currently being implemented.

“However, we have received complaints regarding non-implementation in some public sector organisations as well as the private sector.

“The ministry is actively addressing these issues to ensure compliance across all sectors”.

The Minister recalled that the 37-member tripartite committee on national minimum wage had been inaugurated to recommend a new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

She said the government promptly effected the statutory obligation in order to mitigate the hardship the citizens are facing.

“Amidst these developments, the government is actively implementing its plan to go green with the implementation of the Presidential CNG Initiative.

“It is designed to alleviate the challenges arising from subsidy removal and for the country to gradually transit to cheaper, safer and more reliable gas produced domestically for transportation,” she said.

Onyejeocha added that in line with government ongoing commitment to improving the welfare of Nigerians, provisions have also been made for an initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits.

She said the take-off for the state-of-the-art CNG conversion centres nationwide was also ongoing with the aim to deliver one million converted bi-fuel CNG/PMS vehicles.

To further ease transportation, the minister said the government, l through the Ministry of Finance will procure about 11,500 CNG vehicles including buses and tricycles in the next few months. (NAN)

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