By Marcus Ikechukwu
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Tuesday, resolved to give the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) a grace period of two weeks to further monitor the level of compliance of cash disbursement through commercial banks.
The extension followed consultations with affiliate members of both unions over the cash crunch policy and the response so far.
Joe Ajaero, NLC President, announced the resolution after a meeting with their National Executive Council (NEC) members.
The NLC had issued an ultimatum to go on strike beginning from Wednesday, nationwide, part of which included a plan to picket the various branches of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
It is however not clear whether a meeting summoned by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige on Monday, between the leadership of the NLC and CBN prompted the decision to extend the ultimatum for an additional two weeks.
Ajaero while addressing the press had admitted that the cash crunch situation had improved considerably but that they need to monitor the compliance of cash disbursement through the commercial banks for two more weeks.
President of the TUC, Festus Osifo also corroborated Ajaero’s position, saying there was a need to benchmark the government, not just concerning scarcity of cash but the challenges associated with fuel products and unending queues, including electricity tariff.
Osifo said CBN had erred in eroding the confidence of the people regarding their monetary policy, hence they need to restore the confidence within the two weeks grace period.
