Labour unions to decide on strike today following their meeting with FG

The leadership of organised labour will on Monday, October 2, 2023, meet with organs to decide whether to press on with the proposed strike or call it off. 

In a bid to avert the strike, President Bola Tinubu on Sunday, October 1, 2023, approved  ₦35,000 as a provisional wage increment for all treasury-paid workers for a period of six months.

The President also resolved that VAT on diesel be waived for the next six months.

However, after their four-hour meeting with the FG’s delegation led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero said the union would inform its organs about the government offers before it decides on the strike. 

“I don’t have much to say than what the Chief of Staff has said. We’ve been meeting and we’ve looked at almost all the issues, all the promissory notes from the government and we’ll look at how to translate them to reality and to be workable.

“Then, we’re going to take those promises to our organs. Of course, you know these people here cannot just wake up and review and call off action.

“So, like he (Gbajabiamila) said, we are hopeful that our organs will have a look at them and give us a fresh mandate on what next to do. So, it’s a simple one,” Ajaero said.

Also addressing journalists after the meeting, the acting president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Tommy Etim Okon said the congress would meet its organs on Monday to review the outcomes of the meeting. 

He said, “Let me, on behalf of the TUC, also point out to the fact that we have had series of conversations surrounding the issue raised and we do hope that by tomorrow (today), we are going to get across to our organs so that we can also look at it and cross-fertilize ideas and see the way forward. I am sure we are coming back again tomorrow (today) for that.”