Fuel distribution, health, bank and other essential services nationwide will be shut from today as organised labour begins an indefinite strike over minimum wage and the recent hike in electricity tariff. But the Federal Government in a swift reaction yesterday, warned the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, to shelve the proposed indefinite strike, saying it was premature and illegal.
This is even as the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, among others, last night failed in their effort to stop the proposed strike, after a marathon meeting with NLC president, Joe Ajaero, and his TUC counterpart, Festus Osifo.
However, 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.
Earlier, 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 had written to their members to ensure total compliance.
Recall that the two labour centres had Friday, announced an indefinite nationwide strike from today over the government’s failure to conclude a new national minimum wage and reverse the recent hike in electricity tariff.
NLC and TUC leaders had on Workers Day’s celebrations, given the Federal Government’s May 31 deadline to conclude the negotiations on a new national minimum wage or risk nationwide industrial unrest.
The tripartite committee on a new national minimum wage set up by the government failed to agree on a new national minimum wage after about four meetings.
Labour leaders had walked out of the meetings thrice after rejecting government and the organised private sector’s, OPS, offers.
The last walkout was Friday, which incidentally was the deadline labour gave the government to conclude a new minimum wage as the old minimum wage of N30,000 signed into law by former President Muhammad Buhari on April 18, 2019, expired on April 18, 2024.
