THE NIGERIA Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have suspended their indefinite strike on day-two of the industrial action.
Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja.
Onanuga said that the two unions suspended the strike for one week.
He said that this was in consonance with the agreement reached with the Federal Government and the Tripartite Committee on Monday.
Reports indicate that domestic airports, particularly Murtala Mohammed Airport Terminal II operated by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Ltd., and the General Aviation Terminal I managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) have opened their gates.
Efforts to confirm the report from Comrade Benson Upah, NLC spokesperson, failed as call to his mobile phone did not go through. A WhatsApp enquiry message to him also did not deliver as at press time.
However, a reliable labour leader had early Tuesday morning hinted National Record that a joint National Executive Council (NEC) virtual meeting of both the NLC and TUC was scheduled to hold by 9am Tuesday morning.
“Their is [virtual] Emergency NEC meeting by 9am today which will deliberate and come out with a position that will later be known today but meanwhile we continue the strike,” the source told our reporter via a WhatsApp chat.
The two labour centres embarked on an indefinite strike over endless negotiations for a new national minimum wage, increased electricity tariff and the intorduction of an ‘apartheid’ tariff charges.
The strike started on Monday, with an allnight meeting between labour and government negotiators.
The federal government had in the ongoing negotiation reported to have, in the national interest, offerred to pay a new national minimum wage “higher than N60,000”.
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The government decision was disclosed at a meeting of the committee convened Monday night by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, after day-one of the strike shutdown the economy.
In a circular jointly issued by the committee members at the end of the meeting, and made available to newsmen, it was disclosed that President Bola Tinubu expressed his commitment to a national minimum wage that is higher than N60,000
“Arising from the above, the Tripartite Committee is to meet everyday for the next one week with a view to arriving at an agreeable national minimum wage.
“Labour in deference to the high esteem of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria’s commitment in above undertakes to convene a meeting of its organs immediately to consider this commitment.
“The committee also resolved that no worker will be victimised as a result of the industrial action,” the circular read in part
