The federal government has declared the planned nationwide strike by organized labour over the demand for an increased minimum wage as illegal.
Lateef Fagbemi, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, made this known in a letter addressed to the presidents of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
In the letter, Fagbemi stated that the “call to industrial action is ineffectual, premature, and illegal.”
This announcement follows the labour unions’ declaration on Friday that an indefinite strike would commence on June 3 due to the federal government’s refusal to increase the minimum wage from N60,000.
Fagbemi in the letter argued that the unions’ decision to strike is ill-timed, noting that “the federal government and other stakeholders involved in the Tripartite Committee on the determination of a new national minimum wage had not declared an end to negotiations.”
He further pointed out that the labour unions failed to issue the mandatory 15-day strike notice required under the Trade Disputes Act 2004 and the Trade Unions Act.
