Nigerian unions suspend strike to facilitate negotiations with government

The unions announced that they would enter into dialogue “to achieve positive results and protect the rights and welfare of all Nigerian citizens and workers.”

The unions had proposed 494,000 naira ($332) as the national minimum wage, but rejected the government’s minimum wage proposal of 60,000 naira ($40), which they said was insufficient to cover workers’ ever-increasing living costs. According to official reports, the tripartite committee on the national minimum wage is currently meeting to consider the unions’ proposals.

The workers began their strike on June 3, after which most economic activities came to a halt. Other demands of the union include a reduction in electricity tariffs, which they say are exacerbating the financial difficulties of the workers.

“The indefinite nationwide strike measures will therefore be relaxed for one week starting today in order to enforce a concrete and acceptable minimum wage,”

said Joe Ajaero, NLC President and General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), in a joint statement with the TUC.

Afolabi Olawale, Secretary General of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), added:

“We call on the federal government to use this one-week grace period to do everything necessary to ensure meaningful engagement and address the concerns of Nigerian workers to prevent further escalation of the crisis.”

Both NUEE and NUPENG are affiliated to the IndustriALL Global Union.

“The unions’ demands for a national minimum wage are important to enable Nigerian workers to earn a living and support their families. It is unacceptable to promote conditions that lead to the working poor – where wages are not enough to lift workers out of poverty,”

said Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL Regional Secretary for Sub-Saharan Africa.

In February, unions staged demonstrations and pickets to protest the removal of fuel subsidies. They argued that the removal of subsidies would lead to higher food and transport costs and that inflation was currently running at over 33 percent, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria. This is the highest level of inflation since 1996, which is negatively affecting workers’ wages. In addition, unions expressed concern that the government’s austerity policies were anti-worker and were exposing poor and marginalized communities to poverty.