The organized labour unions have commenced their planned nationwide industrial action today, Monday, June 3, 2024, following a four-hour meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly on Sunday evening in Abuja that ended in deadlock.
The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo and his counterpart in the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, met with Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas in Abuja. The meeting was part of last-minute efforts by the legislators to persuade aggrieved workers to shelve their planned industrial action for a new minimum wage.
The National Assembly stated that the meeting was to “avert the impending industrial action” set to commence on Monday, June 3, 2024, which would have severe repercussions on the populace and economy.
Festus Osifo said, “For now, we don’t have the power to call off the strike, the strike will kick off as we take their (NASS) plea asking us to call off the strike to our various organs after the meeting with National Assembly leadership.”
From today, fuel distribution, health services, schools, courts, banks, and other essential services nationwide will be shut down as organized labour begins an indefinite strike over the new minimum wage and the recent hike in electricity tariffs.
The decision of the organized labour unions follows the deadlock between the Federal Government and the unions over a new national minimum wage and the reversal of the recent hike in electricity tariffs. The Chairmen of the Senate and House Committees on Labour, Employment, and Productivity, Diket Plang and Adegboyega Adefarati, respectively, were also at the meeting.
The labour unions have stated that the current minimum wage of ₦30,000 can no longer cater to the well-being of the average Nigerian worker. They lamented that not all governors are paying the current wage, which expired in April 2024, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. The Act should be reviewed every five years to meet contemporary economic demands of workers.
Labour had given the Federal Government a May 31 deadline for a new minimum wage. On May 31, the workers’ unions declared a nationwide strike beginning from Monday, June 3, 2024, due to the government committee’s inability to agree on a new minimum wage and the reversal of the electricity tariff hike.
During the failed talks with the government, labour rejected three government offers, the latest being ₦60,000. Both the TUC and the NLC subsequently pulled out of negotiations, insisting on ₦497,000 as the new minimum wage.
As part of the mobilization for the strike, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has directed the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), and other senior staff associations to ensure total compliance.
Similarly, the Nigeria Labour Congress’ affiliates, including the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), and other critical sector unions, have instructed their members to ensure total compliance with the strike.
