2007年VOA标准英语-Nigerian Unions Ponder Government Concessions O

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
19 June 2007

The Nigerian government has offered concessions¹ to the country's two main labor² unions to head off a nationwide strike set for Wednesday. Gilbert da Costa in Abuja says the unions may arrive at a final decision on whether to strike later Tuesday.

 

Unions leaders have been huddled³ in long meetings with government representatives most of Tuesday in an effort to avert⁴ the strike planned for Wednesday.

 

The government has agreed to a pay rise and offered to reduce hikes in gasoline prices and the value added tax, but the unions are holding out for a complete reversal of recent price increases.

 

Peter Esele

Peter Esele, head of the senior staff Trades Union Congress, who also leads one of Nigeria's two big oil unions, told VOA organized labor has not ruled out the possibility that the strike could be called off.

"As [of] this moment, I think we are still going ahead with the strike. But you never know, because negotiation⁵ is still ongoing⁶ by the minute, by the hour, by the second. We've made progress in the sense that initially⁷, the government was not saying anything. But suddenly, since yesterday [Monday], after the press briefing when we read out what we are going to do, they suddenly came out with their proposal. On the part of the government, they've made some concessions. So, it is left for the appropriate organs to decide whether we will go ahead with the strike or not," he said.

 

More meeting are planned as the government steps up efforts to avert what could be a debilitating⁸ shutdown.

 

The Trades Union Congress and the junior staff Nigeria Labor Congress are expected to take a final decision on the strike late Tuesday.

 

Nigeria's oil output is down by 25 percent because of attacks by militants⁹ in the country's oil-rich Niger Delta¹⁰. Union leaders say Wednesday's strike would be total and would affect oil exports.

 

Days before he left office on May 29, former president Olusegun Obasanjo increased gasoline prices by 15 percent, doubled the value-added tax and privatized two oil refineries¹¹.

1 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

2 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。

3 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

4 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

8 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

10 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

11 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。