Planned NLC Strike Faces Setback As State Chapters Withdraw

The planned December 1 strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is at risk of collapsing as several state chapters have announced they will not participate in the proposed industrial action.

The strike was intended to protest the delay in implementing the new N70,000 minimum wage approved by President Bola Tinubu in July.

While many states have commenced payments above the approved minimum, including Lagos and Rivers, with offers of N85,000, 13 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have yet to adopt the new wage structure. These states include:

Abia

Akwa Ibom

Ebonyi

Ekiti

Imo

Nasarawa

Kaduna

Katsina

Oyo

Sokoto

Yobe

Zamfara

Enugu

FCT

Less than 24 hours before the proposed strike, several state NLC chapters announced their withdrawal, further casting doubt on the action’s feasibility.

President Tinubu approved the new wage in July to alleviate workers’ burdens amidst rising inflation and pledged to review it every three years. While some states promptly implemented the directive, others have cited financial challenges as a barrier.

The Chairman of NLC in Imo State, Uche Chigaemezu, said on Saturday that there was no plan to embark on any strike.

Speaking in an interview with Punch, Chigaemezu said, “We cannot think of embarking on any strike because we have reached an agreement with the state government led by Governor Hope Uzodimma.

“He has shown commitment to the payment of N70,000 minimum wage to Imo workers. We have communicated our position to the national body, and they are aware of the decision of the government to pay the minimum wage soon.”

A civil servant, who spoke anonymously, confirmed that there was no plan to embark on strike in the state.

While in Sokoto State, NLC opted to pull out of the planned national strike of the union following the approval of N70,000 minimum wage for state workers by Governor Ahmed Aliyu.

Recall that while presenting the 2025 appropriation bill to the state House of Assembly on Friday, the state governor announced that his administration was ready to adopt N70,000 as the new minimum wage.

The governor, however, disclosed that implementing the new wage would commence in January 2025.

Speaking with Punch on the next line of action, the secretary of the NLC in the state said on Saturday that the union had withdrawn from the proposed strike action.

He said, “We are not joining the strike action; representatives of the labour union and the state government have signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of the new minimum wage.”

Similarly, organised labour in Oyo State dissociated itself from the strike.

In separate interviews with Punch in Ibadan, the state capital, the NLC state chairman and his Trade Union Congress counterpart, Kayode Martins and Bosun Olabiyi, respectively, said labour would not participate in the strike.

Martins said, “We have liaised with the national secretariat, and we let them realise the stage we are. Already, we have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for the conclusion of everything.

“We wrote in our press release that we have a good rapport with the government.”

In his submission, Olabiyi said, “We are dissociating ourselves totally from the strike in the state. We have an understanding with the state government; we are not going on strike because everything is fine in this state.”

On his part, the NLC Chairman in Katsina State, Hussaini Danduna, said workers in the state would not join the planned December 1st industrial action.

He said, “We have signed an agreement with the Katsina State Government, and based on this, we are not going to join the strike action declared by the national executive council of our union.”

Also, the TUC Chairman of Katsina State, Mukhtar Abdu-Ruma, said workers would not join the action following the agreement with the state government on Saturday.

“The new minimum wage will be implemented in December, and we have agreed on the minimum wage and consequential adjustment,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the TUC Chairman in Akwa Ibom State, Dominic Abang, said public civil servants would not participate in the planned industrial action by the NLC over the non-implementation of the new minimum wage.

Though the state NLC Chairman, Sunny James, could not be reached on the phone, Abang told Punch in Uyo, the state capital, that the TUC had gone far at the committee level, and there was no need to join the strike.

However, the Kaduna State chapter of the NLC on Saturday confirmed its participation in the planned nationwide strike scheduled for December 1, 2024.

The Chairman of the Kaduna State NLC, Ayuba Suleiman, confirmed the state’s participation while speaking with the platform.

When asked if the NLC was prepared to embark on the nationwide strike, Suleiman replied, “Yes, we are set for the strike.”

Similarly, the Nasarawa State chapter of the NLC declared its readiness to comply with the nationwide strike order.

The state NLC Chairman, Ismaila Okoh, said a notice of strike had been issued to all its members to drive home their demands on implementing the new national minimum wage.

Also, the FCT council of the NLC directed workers in the six area councils of the FCT to embark on an indefinite strike on December 1 until further directives were issued.