The National Assembly’s last-ditch efforts on Sunday to prevent a nationwide strike scheduled to begin on Monday by organized Labour were unsuccessful, following a four-hour meeting where Labour insisted on proceeding with the strike.
On Sunday, the National Assembly leadership convened an emergency meeting with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and several Ministers, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, in an attempt to convince the aggrieved workers to suspend their proposed strike.
After a four-hour closed-door session, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who led the National Assembly leadership in the meeting, urged the workers to call off the strike and return to the negotiation table. He also appealed to the Federal Government to resume the payment of the N35,000 wage award to workers, which was halted earlier this year.
Additionally, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, revealed that the National Assembly and Labour had reached an agreement for the Federal Government to reinstate the N35,000 wage award that began in October of last year but was discontinued in February, until a consensus on the national minimum wage is reached.
In response to the appeal from the National Assembly, the President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, declined to call off the planned strike, stating that they did not have the authority to do so without first consulting the various Labour unions. He emphasized that the strike would proceed as planned, as Labour leaders cannot make such a decision without consulting the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) at the state levels.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Muhammad Idris, also spoke after the meeting, expressing the government’s commitment to continue paying the N35,000 wage award until a resolution is reached on the new minimum wage.
He expressed optimism that Labour would suspend the proposed strike based on the intervention of the National Assembly and other government stakeholders. He said, “We are optimistic that based on the pleas made by the National Assembly, led by the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio, Distinguished Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, with the representatives of the Executive arm of government, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and other Ministers in attendance, we hope that Labour will listen. We cannot afford the strike at this moment, when we are facing serious challenges with our economy.”
Idris further argued that paying a minimum wage of N494,000, as demanded by Labour, would result in spending N9.5 trillion on 1.2 million Nigerians in a country with a population of over 200 million people.
