The Director of General of Michael Imoudu Institute of National Labour Studies, MINILS, Ilorin, Kwara State, Issa Aremu, has called for productive dialogue and compromise in the face-off between the Federal Government and Organised Labour over the removal of subsidy on Petrol and its attendant increases in petrol pump price.

Aremu who was a former Vice President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and General Secretary of National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, argued that the proposed protest scheduled to begin tomorrow (Wednesday, August 20) is avoidable and still preventable.

The MINILS DG spoke on the sideline of a five-day workshop on Building Harmonious Labour-Management Relationship in a Contemporary Legislative Institution, organized by MINILS alongside National Assembly, holding in Lagos.

Aremu said, “The proposed protest by organized labour is avoidable and still preventable if both the Labour and the government can reason together and replace advocacy with dialogue. But today, the two parties are advocating their own positions instead of dialogue. What is dialogue? It means reasoning together to look at each other's problem aimed at reaching a compromise.

“It is time for both labour and government to avoid polarization and avoid fighting. There is no doubt that it is not late for Organised Labour and the Federal Government to sit face-to-face and reason together.

“On the issue of removal of petroleum subsidy, there is already a consensus among all Nigerians before the elections and after the elections that subsidy was no more sustainable because it was causing the nation close to N4billion a month.”

According Aremu, there was need for a common ground and for Nigerians to manage the transition between subsidy and its removal, noting “This is the time for a just transition in the world of work like the International Labour Organization, ILO, says, if you want to move from one policy to another, there is need for a fair transition.

“For now it is clear that the marketers are the one making money through the increases in petroleum products. This has clearly affected the cost of living negatively and among others. It is now the responsibility of all the stakeholders to ensure that this new policy (subsidy removal) does not lead to winner takes it all. There must be compromise from both sides.

“The government needs to address the plight of workers, through the organized labour. Workers' salary is already depressed and everybody agrees since the subsidy removal, workers are now poorer. There is no doubt something needs be done urgently to lessen the suffering of workers.

Some states have responded in the regards. Like in Kwara State the government is giving N10, 000 per month until the new minimum wage comes into effect . This is what we need to do at the federal level.”