FG calls for emergency meeting with labour leaders amid nationwide strike
The ongoing nationwide strike by Organised Labour has caused significant disruptions to economic activities in Nigeria. In light of this, the Federal Government has extended an invitation to labour leaders for a crucial meeting in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The meeting, currently in progress, has brought together key figures such as Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and Festus Osifo from the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Representing the government are notable officials including George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, Minister of Information, and Nkiruka Onyejeocha, the Labour Minister.
The strike has affected various sectors such as businesses, airports, universities, hospitals, and power supply. Labour commenced the indefinite strike to push for a new minimum wage, citing the inadequacy of the current ₦30,000 minimum wage to sustain the well-being of Nigerian workers.
Both NLC and TUC emphasised that not all governors are complying with the current wage award, which expired in April 2024, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was enacted by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
They highlight the need to review the Act periodically to align with the evolving economic conditions faced by workers.
Labour later handed the Federal Government a May 31 deadline for the new minimum wage. On May 31, the workers’ organs in the country declared a nationwide strike beginning on Monday, June 3, 2024, over the government committee’s inability to agree on a new minimum wage and reversal of the electricity tariff hike.
READ ALSO: National Assembly loses water, electricity as labour unions enforce nationwide strike
During the failed talks with the government, Labour rejected three government offers, the latest being N60,000. The TUC and the NLC subsequently pulled out of negotiations, insisting on ₦494,000 as the new minimum wage.
Last-minute talks between labour leaders and the leadership of the National Assembly failed on Sunday night as the Organised Labour said there was no going back on the industrial action.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the workers’ demands are not affordable.
The minister, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme said, “It is difficult because the worker deserves his wage, and given what is going on, they deserve a change and, by law, every five years, and maybe, we shouldn’t have to wait five years every time to set a new wage scale. The fact is that by law, it is a minimum wage.
“So, you are not setting a wage for Federal Government workers, for example. In a Federation, you are setting a minimum figure that states must pay, that local governments must pay, that the private sector must pay, that small businesses must pay.
“It is a fixed figure, not a scale. So, there are elements of how we have set the minimum wage in the past, particularly what we called the consequential adjustment, which, given what Labour is asking today, will be unaffordable across the board.
“We have to focus on the fact that once it is enshrined in law, everybody that falls into the category of having to pay the minimum wage must pay it. Therefore, the affordability has to be taken into account.