Nigeria’s federal government has summoned an emergency meeting with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to address the ongoing indefinite nationwide strike. The meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, June 4, has been called through the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission and will include the minimum wage tripartite committee.
This urgent meeting aims to discuss a suspension of the strike and to continue negotiations over the contentious minimum wage issue. The strike, declared by NLC and TUC on Friday, is a response to the federal government’s refusal to increase the minimum wage from the proposed N60,000. The labour unions earlier proposed a minimum wage of N615,500, citing the rising cost of living. The proposal was countered by the Federal Government, who then offered N48,000.
The N48,000 offer was turned down by the unions, with subsequent proposals by the government of N54,000 and now N60,000, which have been rejected by the labour unions as “unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, as part of the strike, unions have shut down the country’s electricity industry in compliance with the strike order, leading to a nationwide blackout.
Melissa Enoch
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