The last-minute efforts by the leadership of the National Assembly to avert a planned nationwide strike billed to commence on Monday by organised Labour failed, after a four-hour meeting with Labour insisting on going ahead with the strike.
On Sunday, the National Assembly leadership called an emergency meeting with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), some ministers, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to possibly persuade the aggrieved workers to suspend the proposed strike.
Speaking after a four-hour closed-door session, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who led the National Assembly leadership in the meeting, appealed to the workers to suspend the strike and return to the negotiation table.
He also urged the Federal Government to continue the payment of the N35,000 wage award to workers, which was stopped in February this year.
Speaking further on the outcome of the meeting, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, disclosed that the National Assembly and Labour agreed that the Federal Government should re-introduce the N35,000 wage award it began in October last year but stopped three months later in February until such a time it would reach an agreement on the national minimum wage.
Responding on behalf of the leadership of the Labour unions, the President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, turned down the appeal of the National Assembly to call off the planned strike, stressing that they had no power to call off the strike without first reporting back to the various Labour unions.
He said that the planned strike would be on course as Labour leaders could not reach the decision without consulting with the various organs of both the Nigeria Labor Congress, tNLC, and the TUC at the state levels.
“Also, speaking after the meeting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Muhammad Idris, said that the government would continue to pay the N35,000 wage award, pending when the new minimum wage issue would be finally arrived at.
He expressed optimism that Labour would suspend the proposed strike based on the intervention of the National Assembly and other stakeholders in government.
*We are optimistic that based on the pleas made by the National Assembly, led by the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Distinguished Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, and the representatives of the Executive Arm of Government, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and other ministers in attendance, we hope that Labour will listen. We cannot afford the strike at this moment when we are facing serious challenges with our economy,” he said.
Idris further argued that the government paying a minimum wage of N494,000 being demanded by Labour would amount to spending N9.5 trillion on 1.2 million Nigerians in a country of over 200 million people.
