Organized Labour's Deadline for Federal Government: Nationwide Strike Looms
The Organised Labour announced that the one-week grace period given to the Federal Government last Tuesday, June 4, 2024, will expire at midnight on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.
Labour has warned that if the Federal Government and the National Assembly fail to meet the workers' demands by the deadline, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) will convene to decide on the resumption of the nationwide industrial action that was temporarily suspended last week.
Chris Onyeka, an Assistant General Secretary of the NLC, conveyed this on GLiDE NEWS's The Morning Brief show on Monday.
“The Federal Government and the National Assembly have the responsibility now. It’s not our decision. Our demand is there for them to review and send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly. The National Assembly should then consider our demands, the various aspects of the law, and enact a National Minimum Wage Act that addresses our demands,” Onyeka stated.
He continued, “If our demands are not met, we have given the Federal Government a one-week notice which expires tomorrow (Tuesday). If we don’t see any tangible response from the government, the organs of the Organised Labour will meet to decide on the next steps.”
When questioned about Labour’s response if the government insists on ₦62,000, Onyeka responded, “We made it clear that we are only pausing the nationwide indefinite strike. If the unions decide to resume the strike, it means we revert to the previous state of industrial action.”
Onyeka emphasized that Labour will not accept any ₦62,000 or ₦100,000 "starvation wage" as the minimum wage for Nigerian workers. He reiterated that Labour's latest demand, presented at the last meeting of the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage on Friday, is ₦250,000, which they consider a living wage for an average Nigerian worker.
“We have never considered accepting ₦62,000 or any other wage that we know is inadequate for Nigerian workers. We won’t negotiate a starvation wage. We are firm on ₦250,000, which we consider a reasonable concession to the government and other social partners based on market realities,” Onyeka affirmed.
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