For the sake of suffering Nigerians, the leadership of the Labour Party has urged both the Federal Government and Organized Labor to go back to the negotiating table and reach a mutually agreeable solution.
In a statement, the party’s national publicity secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said that within hours of the strike, hospitals had closed, water pipes had been drained, and Nigeria had been plunged into darkness, causing further suffering for the country’s citizens.
It stated that in order to alleviate the pain caused by the industrial action, the government and labor unions needed to change their positions and find a common ground.
“We believe that the Federal Government should not have permitted the strike to start in the first place,” it stated. The existing minimum salary of N30,000 is insufficient to even send someone home, so the answer to the question of whether a new minimum wage is necessary is in the affirmative. It is unable to tolerate the current state of people’s finances. This fact recognizes the significance of raising the minimum wage.
In order to reach a sensible agreement, the party stated that both the government and labor must change their stances in a spirit of compromise.
“The Federal Government’s proposed amount may be increased, but Organized Labor’s demands must also be reduced.”
We would like to strongly advise both sides to return to the drafting tables. The statement continued, “We specifically call on the Federal Government to assume the role of the father figure by making sure that Labour returns to the table so that they can talk about and decide how to stop the pain that the people are currently going through.
The national industrial action was initiated on Monday by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in response to the federal government’s unwillingness to approve their suggested minimum wage for Nigerian workers, given the country’s current economic conditions.
They claim that the average Nigerian worker can no longer be supported by the current minimum wage of ₦30,000 and bemoan the fact that some governors are not paying the current wage award, which expired in April 2024—five years after former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Minimum Wage Act of 2019. Every five years, the Act should be reviewed to ensure it still meets the needs of modern workers in terms of the economy.
The opposition party, however, insisted that the administration must demonstrate genuine concern and that they are prepared to make significant concessions to win the trust of the unions and go back to the negotiating table.
