Strike begins Monday, labour insists after meeting with NASS leadership deadlocked

Strike begins Monday, labour insists after meeting with NASS leadership deadlocked 

Labour leaders on Sunday night said there was no going back on a nationwide workers’ strike starting on Monday.

This came after a meeting involving the leadership of the National Assembly, the executive arm of government, the organised labour ended in deadlock.

Speaking after the Sunday meeting, President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, said that the labour leader had no powers to suspend the strike.

He said they had to report to the organs of their unions before a final decision could be taken.

Osifo said, “There was an appeal from the Senate President to call off the strike.

“On our part, we said we could not sit here and just call off the strike because we need to report to our people. We will take all their pleas to our organs.

“For now, we don’t have the powers to call off the strike.”

The labour had rejected the Federal Government’s offer of N60,000 as the new minimum wage.

The TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress insisted on N494,000 monthly salary for the least paid worker.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, the Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejocha and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, attended the meeting.

Others present are the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Sabi Abdullahi.

The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and his TUC counterpart are leading both unions to the meeting.