BREAKING: Labour Rejects ₦62,000, ₦100,000 ‘ Minimum Wage, Plans To Resume Nationwide Strike Tuesday 

BREAKING: Labour Rejects ₦62,000, ₦100,000 ‘ Minimum Wage, Plans To Resume Nationwide Strike Tuesday 

The organized Labour has clearly communicated that the one-week grace period provided to the Federal Government will end by midnight on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.

In the event that the government and National Assembly do not address the workers’ demands by tomorrow, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are prepared to convene and potentially resume the nationwide industrial action that was temporarily suspended last week.

Chris Onyeka, an Assistant General Secretary of the NLC, emphasized on Channel’s Television that the decision to resume the strike would be determined by the labour unions’ governing bodies.

Should the government insist on an amount like ₦62,000, he made it clear that Labour would consider removing the pause on the strike, effectively reverting to the previous state of affairs.

“It was clear what we said. We said we are relaxing a nationwide indefinite strike. It’s like putting a pause on it. So, if you put a pause on something and that organs that govern us as trade unions decide that we should remove that pause, it means that we go back to what was in existence before.”

Regarding the minimum wage issue, Onyeka stressed that Labor will not settle for what they term as a ‘starvation wage’ such as ₦62,000 or even ₦100,000.

The latest demand put forth by Labor stands at ₦250,000, which they argue is a fair living wage for the average Nigerian worker.

Onyeka said, “We have never considered accepting ₦62,000 or any other wage that we know is below what we know is able to take Nigerian workers home. We will not negotiate a starvation wage.

“We have never contemplated ₦100,000 let alone of ₦62,000. We are still at ₦250,000, that is where we are, and that is what we considered enough concession to the government and the other social partners in this particular situation. We are not just driven by frivolities but the realities of the market place; realities of things we buy every day: bag of rice, yam, garri, and all of that.”