Anambra State Chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), has suspended the two-day hunger protest it embarked upon to press home its demand to the Federal Government to ameliorate the sufferings of the common Nigerians.
The State Chairman of NLC, Comrade Humphrey Nwafor who briefed newsmen in Awka, on Wednesday, on the suspension of the protest, pointed out that the National Executive Committee of the Congress directed that the protest be suspended for three weeks.
Nwafor noted that the three weeks grace given to the federal government is a window grace within which the organised Labour would know if the government is serious about addressing not just the 14-point demand but also the yearnings of the workforce in the state for improved welfare and conditions of service.
According to him, if the federal government fails to meet the demands of the workers, the NLC would be left with no other option than to invoke the measure of last resort to embark on a full-blown strike.
He revealed that the demands of the National Leadership of the Congress centre on such demands including mitigation of hardships in the country, ensuring food security, removal of collection of levies/fees and granting citizens easier access to convert their vehicles from PMS to CNG.
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“The other demands, he noted, were the removal of VAT on basic consumer items, the speedy conclusion of National Minimum Wage Negotiation Exercise, directing all states to immediately pay all owed wages, wage awards, allowances, gratuities and pensions, the composition of stakeholders to monitor and supervise intervention funds to ensure they reach the poor and vulnerable and cash transfers to the vulnerable with verifiable and inclusive social register to begin immediately.
The briefing was also attended by the State leadership of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), led by the state chairman, Comrade Chikwelu Adigwe.
