The Labour Party (LP) has advised the Federal Government to set up a machinery to avert future occurrences of nation wide strikes and civil unrest (s).

The organized Labour, including the NLC, TUC and civil society organizations, at the weekend suspended a four-day nationwide industrial action that inflicted severe economic and social loses estimated at about N600 billion by experts. [The MAN, NLC, IPMAN and others gave their lost estimates amounting to over N600 billion.]

They were protesting increases in the prices of petroleum products, 100 per cent hike in VAT and sale of the nation’s refineries at the twilight of the Obasanjo administration.

Other demands made by Labour were the full implementation of the monetisation policy introduced by the Obasanjo regime and the payment of 15 per cent workers’ pay rise effective from January 2007.

But reacting to the strike called- off by the Labour in a statement today in Abuja, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barr. Dan Nwanyanwu suggested that the proposed machinery should comprise all stakeholders, including Political Parties, Labour and various professional bodies.

Nwanyanwu explained that the enlarged committee should meet continuously to understudy government policies before they were implemented.

While cautioning against a repeat of the unquantifiable socio-economic loses, he warned that such strikes were capable of causing the failure and capacity of the government to address and solve serious national problems.

As a first step toward restoring public confidence in the system and garnering support for the administration, Nwanyanwu counseled that all the agreements reached with Labour should be faithfully implemented without delay.

According to him, the primary purpose of governance is the provision of security and welfare of the people in line with Section 14 (2b) Chapter 2 of the 1999 constitution. Anything done by the Yar’adua administration is tantamount to treachery and sabotage against the people, whom he is their “servant-leader”.

Government must at all times be alive to its responsibilities to the citizenry and the country in terms of providing a stable polity and security as well as functional and qualitative social amenities and infrastructure, said the Party.

The Chairman therefore commended the organized Labour for throwing up the challenge to the new administration of His Excellency Umaru Yar’adua with a view to resolving the issues.

Nwanyanwu also hailed Nigerians for supporting the strike and enduring the pains brought by the action.

Besides, he thumped up for the government and its security agencies for not embarking on undue harassment and intimidation of those that led the strike in the spirit of civilian democracy.

Barr. Dan Nwanyanwu mni
National Chairman