Organized labour suspended its nationwide strike for a week on Tuesday, 05 June. Both the National Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) directed their state branches to notify their members of resuming work immediately.
The decision was a result of the commitment made by President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the workers got a fair deal from the ongoing minimum wage negotiations. At the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held yesterday, at the NLC headquarters, in Abuja, the two labour centers examined key issues involved in the Federal Government’s fresh proposal, including a commitment to offering a higher national minimum wage. In a communique signed by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and TUC President, Festus Osifo, the unions agreed to relax the industrial action for one week with immediate effect.
The communique read, “The NEC-in-session affirms that the federal government has agreed that their offer of N60,000 was not sufficient and has, therefore, shown commitment to making better wage offer to Nigerian workers and reaching agreement on the same within one week. Given the deliberations, the NEC-in-session resolved as follows: there is a greater need to create the right ambience for negotiation to continue unhindered.
The indefinite nationwide strike action is, therefore, relaxed for one week from today to allow the Federal Government to commit to a concrete and acceptable National Minimum Wage; take definitive steps to reverse the electricity tariff hike back to N66/kwh and abolish the discriminatory classification of electricity consumers into Bands. The NLC and TUC national leadership are mandated to continue to maintain open channels of communication with the federal government to negotiate and secure favourable outcomes for Nigerian workers and people.”
NLC and TUC directed all affiliate unions and state councils to relax the indefinite nationwide strike and return to their respective workplaces immediately. Both labour unions expressed gratitude to Nigerian workers and the public for their unwavering support and solidarity in this critical struggle for improved living and working conditions.
