NLC, TUC kick against bill to prevent strikes

The Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress have described the bill seeking to introduce balloting before they can embark on any industrial action as a worthless effort and an unfortunate attempt to mislead the National Assembly.
The bill, which was sponsored by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, was slated for second reading on Tuesday, but had to be suspended following sharp disagreements among senators.
The President, NLC, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, and his TUC counterpart, Mr. Peter Esele, said in separate telephone interviews with our correspondents that the proposed bill would not add any value to labour relations in the country.
Omar said Lokpobiri’s bill was an attempt to interfere in the internal democracy of the labour unions in the country.
He warned that the proposed bill had the implication of elongating strikes in the country, as it would be expected that if votes were taken for strikes to commence, the same process would be followed for such strikes to be called off.