NLC, TUC Threatens Nationwide Strike as Tinubu’s Govt Stops Payment of N35,000 Wage Award, Bonus

• Organised labour has sent an urgent message to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's led federal government
• The NLC and the TUC have threatened a fresh strike action if the federal government reneges on its promises regarding the new minimum wage
• Labour also hinted that the government's move to stop the N35,000 wage award was another reason it will embark on industrial action, as it urges President Tinubu to do the needful

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements

Organized labour in Nigeria is gearing up to take a firm stance on the suspension of the wage award to civil servants, issuing a warning to federal and state governments to brace for an increase in the minimum wage from the current N30,000 monthly.

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The warning signals a potential showdown as discussions around the new minimum wage gain momentum.

While the Federal Government has allocated N1 trillion for minimum wage adjustments in its 2024 budget, state governments have remained largely silent on the matter, raising concerns amidst the escalating cost of living nationwide.

As conversations around the new minimum wage continue, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, revealed that the current N30,000 minimum wage would expire at the end of March 2024.

The federal government and the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council had agreed on the implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage in October 2019 after months of negotiations.

However, the recent suspension of the N35,000 wage award, initially introduced in response to the removal of the fuel subsidy, has sparked concerns within the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and its Trade Union (TUC) counterpart.

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The wage award agreed upon in May 2023 was only paid for September, leading to growing discontent among civil servants.

In an interview with The Punch on Sunday, December 17, the deputy president of the TUC, Tommy Etim, warns that the body might resolve to embark on a prolonged industrial action during its next national executive council meeting "if by the end of December they (FG) have not paid."

FG begins payment of workers' withheld salaries

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the federal government commenced the payment of the November salaries of civil servants.

The workers whose salaries were initially withheld by the FG due to technical glitches and discrepancies on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform started receiving credit alerts of November salaries. Several senior civil servants confirmed the development.

'Tinubu’s 2024 budget, deceitful, strangulating', PDP speaks out

Also, Legit.ng reported that the PDP said President Tinubu's budget, is a huge disservice which, if allowed to pass, will further suffocate Nigerians and plunge our nation into more economic depression.

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Concerns as Tinubu’s govt suspends salaries of dozens of workers, gives reason

The PDP said this in a statement shared on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle.

The party also described the claim by President Tinubu that the budget is a Budget of Renewed Hope as “conjured, unfounded, and deceptive”.

Source: Legit.ng