Unless there’s a last-minute change, workers in the Federal Capital Territory and five states—Cross River, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Kaduna, and Zamfara—are set to strike on Monday due to unmet negotiations over the N70,000 new minimum wage. Despite ongoing discussions between state implementation panels and labor leaders, the state chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have expressed their intention to proceed with the strike. The FCT NLC Council had previously announced an indefinite strike for workers in the six Area Councils starting December 1, as noted in a letter from Chairman Stephen Knabayi.
The NLC leadership has called for workers in 14 states and the Federal Capital Territory to begin industrial action starting Sunday due to the non-implementation of the new minimum wage. Stephen Knabayi criticized the area council chairmen for failing to address the minimum wage demands, despite being informed by a communiqué from the NLC’s National Executive Council issued on November 14, 2024. Additionally, the Nasarawa State chapter of the NLC expressed its willingness to initiate a strike if the minimum wage is not paid.
Ismaila Okoh, the Chairman of the state NLC, announced that a strike notice has been issued to all union members. He confirmed that while the Nasarawa State government has agreed to pay workers N70,500, no official documentation has been signed to implement this agreement. Okoh stated, “We have alerted our members to prepare for a strike today due to the non-implementation of the national minimum wage in the state.
Although the government’s minimum wage committee has proposed a payment of N70,500, we have not received any signed documents confirming this. We are closely monitoring the situation to see if the necessary paperwork will be completed by tomorrow morning. If nothing is finalized by midnight, our members will proceed with the strike as instructed.” In response to potential disruptions, the Kaduna State Government announced that it has begun implementing the new national minimum wage, with the lowest-paid workers in the state receiving a gross salary of N72,000 in November.
Despite recent progress, the state chapter of the NLC confirmed its intention to proceed with the planned strike. Ayuba Suleiman, the state NLC chairman, stated that workers would strike as instructed by NLC leadership, affirming, “Yes, we are prepared for the strike.”In response, Ibraheem Musa, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Uba Sani, maintained that the NLC’s claims of the state defaulting on minimum wage payments were misleading. He emphasized that the state government has adhered to the National Minimum Wage Law’s requirements. “His Excellency, Governor Uba Sani, has fulfilled both the spirit and letter of the law by ensuring that the lowest-paid civil servant received N72,000 last month,” Musa stated.
He noted that the NLC had been advocating for consequential adjustments; however, the state government contended that there is a distinction between salary increases and the minimum wage.Musa stated that the state government receives approximately N8 billion from Federal Allocations and generates an additional N4 billion, totaling N12 billion in monthly revenue. With the implementation of the minimum wage, the monthly wage bill has risen from N5.4 billion to N6.3 billion, which includes N4 billion for loan repayments, leaving only N2 billion for rural development, healthcare, education, and other public services.
Musa argued that it would be unjust for the Kaduna State Government to allocate a significant portion of its revenue for consequential adjustments after fulfilling the mandatory minimum wage obligations. He pointed out that while there are over 10 million residents in the state, only 84,827 are civil servants, making it unreasonable for the government to spend over 90% of its revenue on such a small percentage of the population. He urged the NLC to be patient regarding consequential adjustments until the state’s revenue improves.
“Governor Uba Sani is supportive of labor. He has shown this by offering free bus transportation for civil servants to help ease the impact of the current economic challenges,” he stated.Dr. Oguguo Egwu, Chairman of the NLC in Ebonyi State, announced that state workers would begin a one-week warning strike due to Governor Francis Nwifuru’s failure to implement the new national minimum wage. He noted that while the governor had announced a new wage of N70,000 during the Ojiji festival on September 11, there has been a lack of communication regarding its implementation and no engagement in collective bargaining for necessary adjustments.
In addition, Ahmed Abubakar, the NLC secretary in Zamfara State, reported that workers in Zamfara have also not received the new minimum wage, prompting them to join the strike as well. He stated, “We will participate in the strike as instructed by our national union to express our dissatisfaction with the non-payment of the new minimum wage.”
Abubakar stated that the union would continue to engage in discussions with the state government regarding the minimum wage issue. Meanwhile, the organized labor in Cross River is prepared to take industrial action due to the state’s failure to implement the new minimum wage. Gregory Ulayi, the NLC Chairman in Cross River, indicated that the union would initiate an indefinite strike if the government does not act. However, it was reported that the state government reached an agreement with local NLC and TUC chapters late Sunday to pay workers the N70,000 wage. As of the report’s timing, there was no response from NLC and TUC officials regarding whether the strike would still proceed.