2006年VOA标准英语-Nigerian Unions Threaten Strike Over Job Cuts

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
18 July 2006

Sabo Adamu who is a young tailor works at his father's shop at Ruga area of Abuja, July 17, 2006  
  
Civil servants in Nigeria have issued an ultimatum¹ to the federal authorities to halt planned job cuts or risk a strike.  Nigeria's largest trade union has endorsed² the threat of a strike.

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The seven-day ultimatum issued by the Federal Civil Service Union expires this weekend. Union president Fidelis Edeh, says it expects the government to commence negotiations³ without delay or else a strike may be inevitable⁴.

"We believe that the only way this can be addressed is that the government allows the platform, which is the joint⁵ council, to engage with the appropriate government agencies to take these issues on their merit based on the criteria⁶ already established," he said. "So the ultimatum is from Monday til Friday. By Friday we will be meeting again, the eight unions and ministry⁷ representatives, to find out whether the process has started. If it had not started then it is most likely we may proceed towards an industrial action."

About 33,000 out of 160,000 civil servants in Africa's most populous⁸ country will lose their jobs this year as part of a program of reforms.

The government says the reforms are intended to improve efficiency in the public service. But union officials say the government has failed to follow laid down procedure in the planned retrenchment⁹.

Edeh is particularly worried that twice as many workers as announced by the government may lose their jobs in the next few months.

"At the end of the day, we may be dealing¹⁰ with over 60,000 within just a few months for the exit of this government. I cannot quite fathom¹¹ the rationale for this and we are very worried and concerned about it," added Edeh.

Nigeria's largest trade union, the Nigeria Labor¹² Congress, says it it will support a strike if no compromise is achieved. Labor Congress leader Adams Oshiomhole says the job cuts are not in the national interest.

Critics say the government's reforms have yet to translate into better conditions for Nigeria's 140 million people, most of whom live on less than $1 a day.

1 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

2 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

9 retrenchment   

n.节省，删除

参考例句：

• Retrenchment will be necessary. 有必要进行紧缩。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Defense planners predict an extended period of retrenchment. 国防规划人员预计开支紧缩期会延长。 来自辞典例句

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。