The Organised Labour comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has suspended the strike embarked upon over a new minimum wage and the hike in electricity tariff.

The Labour suspended the strike which commenced on Monday, June 3, 2024, for about one week.

TUC President Festus Osifo made this known after a joint extraordinary National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the unions in Abuja on Tuesday, June 4.

The NLC had earlier stated that the unions had not suspended the strike, adding that they would make their decision known after a meeting.

“Until we hear from our organs at our meeting scheduled for today 4th June, we are still on strike,” it said.

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The NLC said this after the federal government declared its readiness to offer higher than N60,000 national minimum wage it earlier proposed to the tripartite committee deliberating on the issue.

The government decision was disclosed at a meeting of the committee convened on Monday night by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), after the Organised Labour embarked on indefinite strike to press its demand on the new minimum wage.

In a circular jointly issued by the committee members at the end of the meeting, it was disclosed that President Bola Tinubu expressed his commitment to a national minimum wage that is higher than N60,000

The circular read: “Arising from the above, the tripartite committee is to meet every day for the next one week with a view to arriving at an agreeable national minimum wage.

“Labour in deference to the high esteem of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria’s commitment in above undertakes to convene a meeting of its organs immediately to consider this commitment.

“The committee also resolved that no worker will be victimised as a result of the industrial action.”

It would be recalled that following the negotiation by the tripartite committee on new minimum wage and subsequent withdrawal of Labour from negotiation and its indefinite strike, the government had convened the meeting with the unions.

The Star