The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have called off their industrial action.
Trade Union of Congress President, Festus Osifo announced this on Tuesday in Abuja following a joint extraordinary national executive council meeting of the unions. Festus speaking to AAN TV said, “A joint NEC meeting of TUC/NLC has approved to relax the industrial action for one week with immediate effect.” A communique will be issued later.
On Monday, both unions (TUC and NLC) initiated a strike to express their grievances over the hike in electricity tariffs and the lack of consensus on a new minimum wage.
This action halted activities in critical sectors of the economy, leading to the closure of schools, businesses, hospitals, and airports. The national grid was shut down, plunging the nation into darkness. The actions of the Congress were followed due to the expiration of the May 31st deadline for an agreement of a new minimum wage.
During talks with the Nigerian Government, labour rejected three government offers with the latest being ₦60,000. The NLC and TUC pulled out of negotiations insisting on ₦494,000 as the new minimum wage.
To halt the strike, the Federal Government and labor leaders held a lengthy meeting that extended into the night.
Present at the meeting were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume, the Minister of Labour and Employment (State), her Information and National Orientation counterpart Mohammed Idris, TUC’s Osifo, and the President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero.
Although labor representatives stated that the NLC and TUC would convene to determine their next steps, several resolutions were reached during the discussion. These included the government’s commitment to pay above ₦60,000 and the establishment of regular meetings between the parties. Additionally, it was resolved that no worker would face retaliation as a result of the industrial action.
