FG sets two-week timeline on wage award, other incentives for workers

Details of the last-minute reconciliatory meeting between the Federal Government and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have emerged.

The government, during the meeting, set a two-week timeline on wage award, tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers.

This is to cushion the pains and anguish the workers are going through following the removal of fuel subsidy.

The government said it was also setting up the modalities of accessing the intervention fund that was recently announced as palliative to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

The TUC was led by its President, Comrade Festus Osifo, at the meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong in Abuja.

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Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) did not attend the meeting as it has concluded plans to go on with its planned two-day warning strike, beginning on Tuesday.

Only the TUC attended the meeting, which lasted for just 30 minutes.

Pressing issues such as implementation of palliatives, wage award, tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers; modalities for N70bn SMEs; RTEAN crisis among others, were discussed.

Lalong said: “We are going to address those issues within the period of two weeks and come back for further discussion. Some of the issues we discussed are those that are very urgent.

“There are some that will require a long span of time. This was the basis of our discussion.

“We agreed that there should be no strike within the two-week period while we are doing our deliberations and working towards realising some of these objectives.”