As promised, Nigerian labor unions have announced a nationwide strike starting Monday, June 3. The unions earlier indicated they would down tool if negotiations between them and the government failed to achieve consensus on a new minimum wage by May 31.
They also demanded the reversal of recent electricity price hikes in the country.
The unions appear to want to hold the government’s feet to the fire and not allow a protracted negotiation while the workers continue to groan under high inflation in the economy.
The two umbrella organizations of Nigerian workers, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), made the announcement at a joint press briefing on Friday evening.
TUC President, Festus Osifo, and NLC leaders said that since the government failed to meet its reasonable minimum expectation, they “therefore issue a notice of initiation of an indefinite nationwide strike to address this ongoing inaction.”.
“Since the National Minimum Wage negotiation exercise has not been concluded, the agreed wage passed into law, the hike in electricity tariffs reversed, and the categorization of consumers into Bands halted as demanded, Nigerian workers are compelled by these failures to embark on an indefinite nationwide industrial action beginning on Monday, the 3rd of June, 2024, to press home our demands“, he declared.
Negotiations stalled when the unions asked for N494,000 while the government offered N60,000, leaving a wide margin difference. The unions stormed out of the negotiation table afterward.
Hyper Inflation
The cost of living in Nigeria has increased dramatically due to the withdrawal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the Nigerian currency – the Naira, by President Bola Tinubu‘s government about a year ago. The high inflation has heightened calls for a major minimum wage review. To further assuage the workers’ difficulties, labor leaders also suggested several initiatives, such as cheaper gas-fired buses, which the government still needs to deliver on.
The government formed a committee of labor leaders, public servants, and organized businesses to negotiate a new minimum wage, but negotiations stall at every turn.
The Federal Government has yet to respond to the TUC and NLC’s announcement. The strike aims to pressure the government to act fast in reaching an acceptable wage for the workers.
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