ABUJA: Talks between the Nigerian government and labour unions ended late Saturday without a deal, but a union leader said a threat to shut down oil production at midnight would be put on hold.
"The meeting is not deadlocked, but we have not reached a compromise," Nigeria Labour Congress president Abdulwahed Omar told journalists after the meeting at the presidency involving a range of government officials broke up.
Asked if they would now begin shutting down oil platforms, he said, "no, we are taking this thing gradually. We are still giving peace a chance."
He said that a nationwide strike that began on January 9 but which was suspended for the weekend would continue on Monday if a compromise is not reached before then. It was unclear however when or if another round of talks were planned.
The country's main oil workers union had threatened to begin shutting down crude production in Africa's largest oil exporter at midnight if a deal were not reached, but also added that their actions would be predicated on talks at the presidency.
A move by Nigeria's government to end fuel subsidies abruptly and without warning on January 1 sparked the strike and brought tens of thousands of people out into the streets in protest over the past week.
The move caused petrol prices to more than double overnight, from 65 naira per litre ($0.40, 0.30 euros) to 140 naira or more.
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