Members of organized labor declared a nationwide indefinite strike on Friday, because the Federal Government refused to raise the proposed minimum wage from N60,000.
At a press conference in the Labour House, Abuja, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, announced that the strike would start at midnight on Sunday, June 2, 2024.
Ajaero, along with his Trade Union Congress counterpart, Festus Osifo, expressed “grave concern and disappointment” over the Federal Government’s failure to pass a new National Minimum Wage Act into law and reverse the increase in electricity tariff to N65/kWh.
According to Ajaero, the meeting between the government and labor on Friday showed the Nigerian state’s lack of seriousness and disregard for the demands of Nigerian workers and people.
“No Governors or Ministers, except for the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, who also serves as a conciliator, were present. There was nobody on the government’s side with the proper authority to commit to any outcome. In essence, the government abandoned the meeting. We consider this disrespectful and a lack of commitment to a successful National Minimum Wage negotiation exercise.”
Ajaero mentioned that during the May Day celebration on May 1, 2024, organized labour gave the Federal Government an ultimatum to conclude the minimum wage negotiation exercise by the end of the month.
“However, there has been no significant progress or commitment from the government to meet this demand. We also demanded a reversal of the recent electricity tariff hike from N225/kWh back to N65/kWh and an end to the categorization of consumers into Bands.
Ajaero emphasized that Nigerian workers, who are the backbone of the nation’s economy, deserve fair and decent wages that reflect the current economic situation
