Latest NLC strike news: NLC and TUC suspend national strike – what happens next

New information in one hour

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have called off their nationwide strike.

Neither the government nor the unions will ever reach a final agreement on what the new minimum wage will look like.

Nor will they decide on future electricity tariffs, which will rise.

Following Monday’s meeting, the parties involved in the negotiations said they would continue to apply pressure on the matter.

The Nigerian government says they would consider a payment of over 60,000 naira – but they would never know the final amount.

On Tuesday, TUC President Festus Osifo said after a joint extraordinary meeting of the unions’ national executive council that they would explain how far they would go.

Trade unions in Nigeria said they would continue the strike despite the agreement they reached with the government on Monday evening.

“Until we receive a response from our bodies to our meeting on June 4, we will remain on strike,” he tweeted.

As part of the agreement, the government has agreed to pay more than 60,000 naira ($42), with the new minimum wage set to be double the current amount of 30,000 naira since 2019.

Tori said the government called the meeting to respond quickly to the nationwide strike that sparked ground attacks across Kontri.

President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, and President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, represented organised labour at the meeting.

On the government side, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, as well as Odas – na dem, also signed the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government.

The agreement states: “The President of Nigeria has committed to setting a national minimum wage of over 60,000 naira. The tripartite committee will meet daily next week to set an acceptable national minimum wage.”

Labour also agreed to “convene immediate meetings of the various bodies to discuss the new offer. No worker should be subjected to harassment for taking part in the strike.”

The trade union strike in Nigeria began on Monday after numerous affiliated unions called on their members to submit to the nationwide strike.

Despite the government’s warning, the unions have started a strike because they are violating the law.

“The call for industrial action is premature, ineffective and illegal.” Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi accepted the letter to the unions.

They say it is a strike against the order of the National Labor Court and the agreement reached between them and the government to resolve the matter.

In Nigeria, darkness fell at around 2:00 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT) when union members stopped the lines at the Kontri power plant and switched off all substations.

The Nigerian transmission company confirmed the shutdown of the national power grid in a statement released later.

The first day of the strike brought many of Kontri’s activities to a standstill. Thousands of passengers are stranded at all of the island’s regional airports – there are no flights from morning to evening.

Public school students cannot go to school because their teachers are not at work.

In Kano State in northwest Nigeria, there is a case involving the Emirate of Kano, where it is said that judicial employees are not allowed to work.

The offices of the State Secretariat for Southern Nigeria in Rivers State are empty for the first time since 2015 due to a strike.

The commercial metropolis of Lagos in Nigeria is also badly affected by the effects. Many government offices, including the port, are closed. Union members are striking work on Tincan Island, Tori say.

Labour members are also blocking access to the National Assembly in Abuja. Officials are also not allowed to work in many ministries in the capital.

The two unions NLC and TUC are trying to reach an agreement with the federal government on a new minimum wage.

All attempts to bring the issue to the negotiating level fail.

Labour is demanding 494,000 naira as minimum wage, but the federal government says they will not demand any wage above 60,000 naira.

First, the Nigerian government will propose to increase the national minimum wage from the current 30,000 naira by 18,000 naira, so that the new minimum wage will be 48,000 naira, the union leadership said.

But the unions do not agree.

Economic analyst Shaibu Idris says the minimum wage for unions, the private sector and government at all levels should be between 80,000 and 100,000 or a maximum of 120,000 naira.

He says the amount is fair for all parties involved in the minimum wage.

Furthermore, the report states that the 494,000 naira demanded by the workers is an unrealistic amount that no company can with certainty adequately compensate.

Shuaibu Idris also said salary increases were not a long-term solution to the economic crisis facing Nigeria.

“We need to look at the diversity of the economy, we need to look at manufacturing and agriculture.”

“Increasing the minimum wage is only to improve the life of the common man, because the life of the common man will not improve if he is not productive. We need more productive people as a counterweight.”

Shuiabu Idris added that the productivity of Nigerians is very low compared to that of Ghanaians and Odas.