The organised labour groups in Nigeria late Monday night agreed to suspended their ongoing indefinite strike action for one week over a new national minimum wage and reversal of the recent electricity tariff hike after the Federal Government gave the labour leaders assurance of increasing the minimum wage about N60,000 previously offered to workers.
Consequently, the joint National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of both Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) approved to suspend the industrial action for one week with immediate effect.
At the end of the meeting, the Federal Government and the organised labour groups reached a tentative agreement, including a resolution to further engage daily for the next one week at the level of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage until a final agreement is reached.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, who gave these hints on the resolutions of the parties at the meeting.
Specifically, in a statement jointly issued at the end of the meeting by the Ministers of Information and that of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Idris and Nkiruka Onyejeocha, respectively, on the part of the Federal Government, and the Presidents of the NLC and TUC, Comrades Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo, respectively, parties agreed on a four-point resolutions as a pathway to ending the ongoing industrial dispute.
The resolutions stated: “The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria is committed to a National Minimum Wage that is higher than N60,000;
“Arising from the above, the Tripartite Committee is to meet everyday for the next one week with a view to arriving at an agreeable National Minimum Wage;
“Labour in deference to the high esteem of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria’s commitment in (ii) above undertakes to convene a meeting of its organs immediately to consider this commitment; and
“No worker would be victimised as a result of the industrial action,” the resolutions added.
It would be recalled that members of the NLC and TUC had on Monday embarked on a nationwide strike to press home their demands for a new national minimum wage and reversal of the recent electricity tariff hike, thereby paralyzing activities in the public service at national and subnational levels and also hampering activities in the organized private sector.
