Labour suspends strike for 30 days as FG agrees to pay N35,000 wage award

After signing a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Government on Monday night, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) decided to call off their nationwide strike for 30 days.

The labour unions had threatened to embark on an indefinite strike from Tuesday, October 3, 2023, to protest the removal of subsidies on gasoline and the increase in the pump price of the commodity from N162 to N212 per litre.

However, after a marathon meeting with the Federal Government delegation led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, the labour leaders agreed to call off the strike in exchange for some concessions from the government.

According to the agreement, the Federal Government will grant a wage award of N35,000 to all federal workers starting in September 2023, pending the enactment of a new national minimum wage law. A minimum wage committee will also be inaugurated within one month from the date of the agreement.

The Federal Government also agreed to suspend the collection of value-added tax (VAT) on diesel for six months, starting in October 2023, and to allocate N100 billion for the provision of high-capacity compressed natural gas (CNG) buses for mass transit in the country.

The agreement also stated that the Federal Government will urge state governments, local governments, and the private sector to implement the wage award for their workers and that a joint visitation will be made to the refineries to ascertain their rehabilitation status.

The memorandum of understanding will be filed with the relevant court of competent jurisdiction within one week as a consent judgement by the Federal Government.

The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and the TUC President, Festus Osifo, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting but warned that the unions would resume the strike if the government failed to fulfil its promises.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, thanked the labour leaders for their patriotism and understanding and assured them that the government was committed to improving the welfare of Nigerian workers and the general public.