In a significant development, the Organised Labour has decided to suspend its previously announced indefinite strike, which was slated to commence on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. The decision came after extensive deliberations that lasted for approximately five hours between representatives of the Organised Labour and the federal government at the Chief of Staff Conference Room of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, announced the outcome of the meeting to State House correspondents, stating, “The NLC and TUC accept to suspend for 30 days the planned indefinite nationwide strike scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.” Lalong further disclosed that a memorandum outlining the terms of the agreement would be filed with the relevant court of competent jurisdiction within one week, officially becoming a consent judgment by the Federal Government.
However, it is essential to note that the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, expressed the unions’ readiness to revisit the agreement should the federal government fail to fulfill its demands.
Prior to the resolution, the Organised Labour had threatened to withdraw from the negotiations, citing the government’s insistence that the N35,000 provisional salary increment would only remain in effect for six months. Labour representatives accused the government team of reneging on the understanding reached on Sunday night, which stipulated that the N35,000 provisional salary increment, applicable across the board, would persist until the negotiation and implementation of the new minimum wage scheduled for next year.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Minister Simon Lalong read out the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), confirming the suspension of the planned indefinite strike for a period of 30 days. Additionally, the MoU instructed the Minister of Labour to address the issue of withheld salaries of university staff, marking another key point of agreement between the parties involved.
