By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Organised Labour comprising of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), says it would relax its ongoing strike action for one week with immediate effect, to allow the minimum wage negotiations continue.
The economy has been grounded in the West African country, following the commencement of strike on Monday by the unions, arising from dispute with government on a new minimum wage.
While Labour insists on N494,000 as new minimum wage, the government says it could pay above the earlier proposed N60,000 but has not put forward a new amount yet.
The resolution for the temporary suspension of strike that caused nationwide power outage and disruption of flight operations on Monday and Tuesday was reached during a joint emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting by both unions on Tuesday.
Details of agreement reached between Labour and the government was still sketchy as at the moment of this report, as source did not disclose further information.
Heritage Times HT recalls that the NLC had taken to its official X handle in the early hours of Tuesday to announce the strike was still ongoing pending when they hear from their organs at a meeting scheduled to hold later in the day.
“Until we hear from our organs at our meeting scheduled for today 4th June, we are still on strike,” it noted.
The NLC said this after the federal government declared its readiness to offer higher than N60,000 national minimum wage it earlier proposed to the tripartite committee deliberating on the issue.
The government’s decision was disclosed at a meeting of the committee convened on Monday night by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), after the Organised Labour embarked on indefinite strike to press its demand on the new minimum wage.
In a circular jointly issued by the committee members at the end of the meeting, it was disclosed that President Bola Tinubu expressed his commitment to a national minimum wage that is higher than N60,000.
The circular partly read: “Arising from the above, the tripartite committee is to meet every day 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 above undertakes to convene a meeting of its organs immediately to consider this commitment.
“The committee also resolved that no worker will be victimised as a result of the industrial action.”
