The organised labour has suspended ongoing strike with effect from Sunday, September 30.
Ayuba Wabba, the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), announced this while briefing journalists at the Labour House in Abuja.
Wabba said that the organised labour has got firm commitment from the government that the Tripartite Committee of the Minimum Wage Committee would reconvene on October 4.
He said: “Indeed on Thursday morning, the strike commenced and was observed across the country. We wish to appreciate our workers and affiliate unions for their commitment and determination.
“We invite you here today to inform you that we have received a firm and formal invitation to a reconvened meeting of the tripartite committee scheduled for October 4 and 5, 2018. We demand that this shall be the final session of the committee and that a final report will be submitted to Mr. President immediately.
“In order to avail the committee the necessary conducive environment to hold this crucial meeting and conclude its work, organised labour has, after obtaining the mandate of their necessary organs, decided to suspend the strike with effect from today (yesterday), Sunday September 30, 2018.”
Recall that members of organised labour embarked on a national warning strike last Thursday to press home demand for the implementation of a new national minimum wage.
The strike, which paralysed social and economic activities across the country, was staged to compel the government to shore up workers’ salaries from the current minimum of N18,000 to N65,500.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had announced an indefinite suspension of the tripartite committee sitting without arriving at any figure as minimum wage, å development that angered the industrial unions.
They had accused the federal government of insincerity in the implementation of the new wage bill.
But as organised labour proceeded on strike, the Minister of Labour, Senator Ngige, convened a meeting with the leadership and, thereafter, announced that the Minimum Wage Committee would resume meeting on October 4, adding that the federal government was workers’ friendly.
However, sources within the Presidency said the government was afraid of how to source the additional funds to finance an increased wage bill, especially with the current economic indices.
The Federal Government had set up a subcommittee to analyse and come up with a strategy on how the new minimum wage could be implemented but the committee could not conclude its assignment before the strike as some its members were on President Muhammadu Buhari’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, in New York.
In Akwa Ibom State, the strike was enforced as Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat, Federal Secretariat in Uyo and banks, among others were shut.
Recall that organized labour commenced a nationwide strike on Thursday, September 27 to force the federal government to announce its figure and ensure the completion of works of the new national minimum wage.
Straightnews gathered that the decision was reached by leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC and United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC after an emergency meeting in Lagos.
At a briefing in Lagos after an emergency meeting of its Central Working Committee, CWC, leaders of ULC informed that NLC, TUC and ULC, had harmonized their separate demand to N65,000 and had informed the government and the private sector employers through the tripartite minimum wage negotiating committee.
Until the harmonization, while NLC and TUC had demanded for N56,500, minimum wage, the ULC demanded for N96,000.
Briefing on behalf of ULC, its President, Joe Ajaero, by this communiqué lamented that since the ultimatum the government had not reached out or addressed organized labour demand, “that the federal government of Nigeria through the federal minister of Labour has instead chosen to trivialize a life and death matter concerning Nigerian workers and masses and unfortunately chose to thread the path of name-calling.
“The federal government of Nigeria is therefore still insistent on playing politics with the lives and living conditions of Nigerians especially Nigerian workers. Nigerians will remember that in May this year, we raised alarm when the Minister of Labour said categorically that there will be no new national minimum wage before the end of September this year. This was however denied by the federal government but with this latest gambit, our worst fear concerning Government’s motives over the national minimum wage has been confirmed.
“The federal Government has remained immune to the suffering and wanton deprivations which its policies and actions have brought upon the working people of this country. This government is demonstrably not worried about the increasing poverty in the country which has since last year made Nigeria the country with the largest number of poor people all over the globe. It is not therefore surprising that it does not think of how to lift Nigerians out of this morass. Government has shown by its actions a remarkable lack of seriousness which recently may have characterized governance in Nigeria.
“We, therefore, wish to reaffirm our commitment to pursue the attainment of our collective demand for N65,000 per month as the new National Minimum wage for all Nigerian workers as harmonized by organised Labour. We recommit to the 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government As a result of this apparent disregard, we shall in conjunction with other labour centres working with Civil Society Organisations across Nigeria embark on a nation-wide strike if nothing is done to meet our demands on the expiration of this collective ultimatum in the next few days. We shall no longer be obliged by this time to give any further notice to the government before embarking on the needed action to resist the deliberate and unconscionable desolation of our people and nation.”
Ajaero noted that a strike committee had been set up by the Congress to commence work immediately, adding that ULC, “reiterates its commitment to the promotion of the welfare, rights and privileges of Nigerian workers and masses. A new National Minimum Wage of N65,000 is desirable and very possible. It is only a shortage of patriotism and a surplus of official greed and corruption that is the bane of a reasonable national minimum wage.
