The Organised Labour has defended its decision to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike, asserting that Nigerian workers are enduring severe economic hardship.
The strike, which began on Monday, June 3, 2024, was declared in response to the government’s failure to agree on a new minimum wage and to reverse the recent hike in electricity tariffs.
In a joint statement released on Monday, leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo, outlined the reasons behind the industrial action.
They argued that the current minimum wage of ₦30,000 is insufficient to meet the basic needs of an average Nigerian worker, especially considering that some state governors have yet to implement the existing wage, which expired in April 2024.
The labour leaders criticized the Federal Government for offering what they described as a “slave wage” amidst the “excruciating hardship” faced by workers.
They highlighted the impact of rampant inflation, with food inflation reaching 40% and general inflation at 33%, leaving many Nigerians struggling to survive.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigerians, especially workers, are currently living just on the edge,” the statement read.
“In addition to the historicity of slave wages marked by the continued downturn in the national economy, massive devaluation of the naira, removal of government subsidies, increase in taxation, astronomical hike of the tariff of critical utilities and the combo siege of collapsed public infrastructure and insecurity all over the country, life has become a Hobbesian reality in Nigeria – short, nasty and brutish.”
The labour unions argued that the government’s proposed wage increases are inadequate when compared to the severe economic challenges facing the country. They accused the government of prioritizing profligacy over the welfare of its citizens.
“While the Federal Government offers a very paltry sum which in real inflation and naira value is far below the current national minimum wage, in one word – backward increase of the national minimum wage – government has shown a huge appetite for profligacy,” the statement continued.
