The federal government has appealed to construction workers in the country to shelve their plan to embark on a nationwide warning strike

Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, minister of state for labour and employment, made the appeal on Wednesday in Abuja during a meeting called to resolve the dispute between the workers and their employers.

The workers are under the aegis of the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW) and the Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA).

It would be recalled that the construction unions, last week, threatened to embark on a nationwide strike if their demands were not met.

The workers had accused their employers, the Construction and Civil Engineering Employers Association of Nigeria (CCEEAN), of refusing to implement wage awards for workers in the construction industry.

It would be recalled that the N35,000 wage award was an agreement reached between the federal government and organised labour to cushion the effects of subsidy removal.

Ms Onyejeocha urged the workers to shelve the planned warning strike and allow the resolution of the dispute through dialogue.

“It is regrettable that the workers did not attend the conciliation meeting to which they were invited.

“Rejecting government’s intervention calling for dialogue is not the right approach to the ongoing dispute,” she said.

The minister added that while the government is working to fulfil promises made to the people, it expects support from all Nigerians, especially in maintaining industrial peace and harmony.

She urged the employers to continue to engage with the workers, as the government would keep prevailing on them to listen to reason and not proceed on strike.

Earlier, Vincent Barrah, president of CCEEAN, said that the welfare of the workers has always been a top priority to the association.

He said that the association had been doing wage reviews every two years and had not been stopped from providing welfare based on prevailing circumstances.

He noted that the association had also done an upward review of transport fares to cushion the effect of the recent economic downturn in the country.

Mr Barrah posited that they had explained to their workers that the wage award was meant for federal government workers.

“The workers had refused to cooperate in resolving the current issues through internal mechanisms,” he said.

(NAN)