Organised labour declares indefinite strike over new minimum wage, electricity hike

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NlC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have declared an indefinite strike nationwide from Monday, June 3, due to the federal government’s refusal to increase the minimum wage to meet organised labour’s demands.
“In light of this persistent inaction, we, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), hereby issue a notice of commencement of an indefinite nationwide strike to the Federal Government,” the Labour unions said in a statement on Friday.
The labour unions made the announcement during a briefing on Friday, in Abuja, after several attempts by the 37 members tripartite committee to reach a definite new minimum wage figure for Nigerian workers proved fruitless.
The labour unions reduced their demand from ₦615,000 to ₦497,000 after seeing reasons for the decision. However, the federal government, during the last negotiation, proposed a ₦60,000 monthly minimum wage as against the previous N57,000 proposal which was rejected.
The unions also frowned at the recent hike in electricity tariff for Nigerians.
Meanwhile, organised labour at the start of the negotiations, had given the federal government until May 31 to come up with a new minimum wage that would reflect the current economic realities of Nigerians.
The labour unions begged with Nigerians to bear with them, saying “Apologies for inconveniences but commitment to pursue the cause to its conclusion.”
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