The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have announced the suspension of the planned indefinite nationwide strike, which was scheduled to commence today, October 3, 2023.
The decision follows fruitful discussions with representatives of the federal government.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) issued and signed by NLC President Joe Ajaero, TUC President Festus Osifo, and government representatives, including the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, outlines the terms that led to the suspension of the strike.
The government’s decision to engage with the unions in an emergency meeting on Sunday was aimed at averting the nationwide strike.
Among the key issues addressed during this meeting was the removal of the petrol subsidy and the economic challenges facing the country.
At the conclusion of the four-hour meeting on Sunday, President Bola Tinubu approved a provisional wage increment of N35,000 for all categories of federal workers.
According to the MoU issued on Monday, the payment of the N35,000 wage increment will commence from September, pending the signing of a new national minimum wage into law. Additionally, both parties agreed to inaugurate a minimum wage committee within one month from the date of the agreement.
Furthermore, the government committed to allocating N100 billion for the procurement of high-capacity compressed natural gas (CNG) buses for mass transit in Nigeria.
The MoU states, “Provisions are also being made for an initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits to kickstart an auto gas conversion program, while work is ongoing on state-of-the-art CNG stations nationwide. The rollout aims to commence by November with pilots across 10 campuses nationwide.”
Regarding the outstanding salaries and wages of tertiary education workers in federal-owned educational institutions, the matter will be referred to the Ministry of Labour and Employment for further engagement.
Both parties also agreed to conduct a joint visitation to the refineries to assess their rehabilitation status. Additionally, they pledged to adhere to the principles of social dialogue in all future engagements.
The memorandum concludes by noting that it will be filed with the relevant Court of competent jurisdiction within one week as a consent judgment by the Federal Government.
