The Nigerian Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress have sent a signal to the public that its planned nationwide industrial action can start anytime without further notice following the federal government’s refusal to send a draft bill on the N30,000 national minimum wage to the National Assembly to legislate into law.
The president of United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC), Joe Ajaero, who gave the warning, told Vanguard that though no date had been fixed for commencement of the strike. He said that it could start the next day after the national protest.
‘’It can start today, it can start at anytime. We agreed during our meeting (of leaders of organised labour) on December 20, 2018, in Lagos that the December 31 deadline given to government to send a draft bill to the National Assembly to legislate on the N30,000 minimum wage recommendation by the Tripartite Committee, serves as a final notice to the government for us to resume the suspended November 6, 2018 nationwide strike,” Ajaero said.
‘’What that means is that a nationwide strike can start today, tomorrow or next without further notice to the government.”
Another labour leader, Peter Ozo-Eson, who serves as the general secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said there will be a nationwide mass protest by the NLC’s 36 state councils, affiliate unions and friendly groups, such as civil society organisations, CSOs over the non-implementation of the new minimum wage bill.
Ozo-Esan in a statement said the mass protest will be held on Tuesday, January 8 by all affiliate labour unions in the country.
He said: “It has come to our attention that a section of the news media has largely misrepresented our action plan in reaction to the delay in transmitting the recommendations of the Tripartite Committee on a new National Minimum Wage to the National Assembly by President Mohammadu Buhari.
“We immediately announced then that on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, there will be a nationwide mass mobilisation and protests simultaneously across all states in Nigeria. This does not translate to a strike. It is on record that each time we had cause to embark on a national strike, we say so publicly without any equivocation.
‘’When a date is decided for the commencement of a strike subsequently, we will inform the public appropriately.”
