Nigeria’s main labour unions have suspended an indefinite strike that began Monday, to allow minimum wage talks with the government continue for a week.
The nationwide strike brought the country to a standstill on its first day, shutting down power, stopping many flights and crippling financial services.
Leaders of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) met with the government late Monday, and the government agreed to discuss a higher minimum wage than doubling the wage to N60,000 as it first offered.
The unions want N494,000 as minimum wage, an amount the unions say is justified considering the unprecedented cost-of-living crisis Nigerians are facing after fuel subsidy was scrapped and the naira devalued.
“After an extraordinary … meeting today, it was decided that the ongoing strike be suspended for the next one week and we will continue negotiation with the government … on minimum wage,” TUC president, Festus Osifo, said.
“Failure on the part of government to conclude with labour within one week shall prompt the organised labour to resume the strike without further notice,” said Tayo Aboyeji, an NLC secretary.
Labour leaders met with their affiliates on Tuesday and Mr Osifo told reporters that the government had been given a one-week “grace period” to come up with an agreeable minimum wage.
Failed strike
The strike followed weeks of failed negotiations between the unions and the Nigerian government regarding an increase in the national minimum wage.
The current minimum wage, set at N30,000 per month, has been deemed insufficient by unions due to soaring inflation, which has eroded purchasing power and caused significant hardship for many Nigerians.
Millions of Nigerians are feeling the pinch of rising living costs. The inflation rate rose to 33.67% in April, according to official figures, driven by the government’s removal of petrol subsidy, devaluation of the naira, low food production, and scarcity of foreign exchange.
Many Nigerians, however, believe the rate of price change in the last one year is over 100%. A bag of rice that sold at N30,000 a year ago now sells at over N75,000 a bag, far more than the minimum wage.
“People cannot breathe because of the economic situation. This is getting too much,” says Eno Udofia, a health worker in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.
Stalled Negotiations
Talks between the unions and the government reached a deadlock last week, prompting the unions to call for a nationwide strike. The government has proposed a 100% percent increase in the minimum wage to N60,000, but the unions are demanding N494,000 to meet the basic needs of workers.
The labour unions accuse the government of being deliberately slow to conclude talks that started nearly a year ago, while it swiftly imposes additional taxes on Nigerians.
Finance minister Wale Edun said the government cannot afford the amount demanded by the labour unions as it would cripple the economy.
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