Nationwide Strike In Doubt As Senate President, Govs Summon Organise Labour To Emergency Meeting

In a last-ditch effort to avert a nationwide strike, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the leadership of the Nigeria Governors Forum have invited the leadership of the Organized Labour for an emergency meeting.

The meeting, scheduled for tonight, comes as a response to the Nigeria Labour Congress’ declaration of an indefinite nationwide strike, starting on Monday, June 3, 2024.

“A meeting has been summoned by the senate president and the Nigeria Governors Forum. The meeting will be held Tonight,” a highly placed source told The PUNCH.

The strike was announced after failed negotiations between the government and organized labour over the proposed minimum wage.

Despite the government’s final offer of N60,000, which represented an increase from the initial N57,000, the labour unions found the proposal insufficient.

In a show of goodwill, labour revised its demand, reducing it by N3,000 from the initial N497,000 proposed last week, setting the new proposal at N494,000.

However, the negotiations remained deadlocked, leading to the declaration of a nationwide indefinite strike.

The strike threatens to paralyze economic activities across the country, and the emergency meeting is seen as a desperate attempt to resolve the impasse.

The outcome of the meeting will determine whether the strike will go ahead as planned or if a last-minute agreement can be reached.