New Minimum Wage: Labour Unions Threaten Nationwide Strike Tuesday

Labour may go on strike in response to the new minimum wage on Tuesday

Nigerian workers to embark on nationwide strike over minimum wage. Labour unions reject proposed #62,000 and #100,000 as 'starvation wages' and demand #250,000. Strike to commence Tuesday if demands not met.

A national strike by organized Labour over the increased minimum wage is expected to start on Tuesday.

The proposed minimum salary of #62,000 and $100,000 has been categorically rejected as “starvation wages” for Nigerian labourers.

Labour reaffirmed its demand for a 250,000 minimum salary during the most recent meeting of the Tripartite Committee on Minimum salary on Friday, arguing that this is the only amount that will allow the typical Nigerian worker to support themselves.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Assistant General Secretary, Chris Onyeka, stated, “Our stance is unequivocal,” on Channels Television's The Morning Brief program on Monday.

He made it clear that labour would not take the N62,000 government offer or the N100,000 that certain people and economists had suggested.

“We have never considered accepting #62,000 or any wage that falls short of sustaining Nigerian workers.

“We will not negotiate a starvation wage,” Onyeka stated. “N100,000 was never on the table for us, let alone #62,000.

“We remain steadfast at #250,000, which we believe is a reasonable concession to the government and other social partners. Our demand is based on market realities-the cost of everyday essentials like rice, yam, and garri.”

Onyeka announced that the Federal Government's one-week grace period, which ended on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, would expire at midnight on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.

He said that the National Labor Congress (TUC) and the NLC would meet to decide whether to resume the statewide labor action that was temporarily stopped last week if the Federal Government and National Assembly do not respond to the requests of the workers by Tuesday.

“The Federal Government and the National Assembly need to take action now. It's not up to us. Our demand is clear: they need to send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly, which should then consider our demands and the relevant legal facts to create a National Minimum Act that meets our requirements,” the NLC official said.

“If our demands are not met, we have given the Federal Government a one- week notice, which expires tomorrow (Tuesday). If we don't receive a satisfactory response from the government by then, the Organised Labour bodies will meet to decide the next steps.”

He said, “We clearly stated that we are pausing the nationwide indefinite strike,” in response to a question regarding Labour's plan of action should the government insist on #62,000 instead. “We will restart the strike as originally scheduled if the governing bodies of our trade unions choose to lift that suspension.”