The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Thursday urged Nigerians to disregard the ongoing strike called by a faction of NLC and go about their normal businesses.
Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, the South-West Chairman of NUPENG, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
NAN reports that offices and other businesses in parts of the country have been going on unhindered in spite of the strike by a section of NLC on Monday.
The faction is protesting the new N145 per litre pump price of petrol as directed by the Federal Government.
Korodo said that the strike was not in the best interest of the country.
He said that what any union that stood for workers or masses should be doing now was to find ways of reaching agreements with government to make life better for workers.
“Nigerians should disregard NLC strike and continue with their business activities because it is a failure.
“What the unions should do now is to meet government and reach a compromise with them on how to increase workers take home.
“NLC should be meeting the government on the way forward and not bringing us backward,” he said.
Meanwhile, normal activities were reported at most filling stations visited by NAN correspondent as the strike entered its second day.
Filling stations at Orile-Coker, Iponri, CMS and Obalende were selling at the official price of N145 per litre.
The situation was the same at Iyana-Ipaja, Abule-Egba, Oshodi, Ojota and Ojuelegba.
Mrs Taiwo Akande, a motorist, urged labour leaders to go discuss palliative measures to reduce the hardship created by the increase with government.
“Going on strike will not solve the problems, that is why everybody is working.
“What the union leaders should do now is to meet government to increase workers’ salaries and pump more money into the economy so that things can move on.
