Labour Cries Out as Soldiers Surround Minimum Wage Negotiation Venue

• The NLC has raised concerns over the heavy presence of military personnel at the office of the SGF, the scheduled place for negotiation between its representatives and that of federal government
• Organised labour was invited to the office of the SGF for negotiation over the ongoing industrial action embarked upon by the workers
• But reacting to the development, the unions threatened to worsen the situation should their leadership be intimidated by the presence of the military

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The leadership of the organised labour has raised an alarm over the presence of military officers at the venue of its negotiation with the federal government.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) disclosed this in a tweet on Monday, June 3, shortly after its leadership arrived at the office of the secretary to the government of the federation for negotiation.

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NLC kicks over soldiers' presence at negotiation venue

The labour threatened that any intimidation by the government on the leadership of the unions would worsen the situation.

One of the tweets reads:

"Soldiers are presently surrounding the venue of the meeting between labour and government at the premises of the SGF.

"Any attempt to intimidate, provoke or blackmail our leaders at the negotiation table would worsen the issue and further prolong our action indefinitely. Our leaders are acting in accordance with the directives of our organs. Viva! Organized labour, Viva! Working people of Nigeria!"

Why NLC embarked on nationwide strike

On Friday, May 31, organised labour said it would embark on an indefinite nationwide strike over the federal government's refusal to increase the N60,000 proposed new minimum wage.

Joe Ajaero, the president of the NLC, disclosed that the strike would commence on Monday, June 3, 2024.

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In a statement, Ajaero and his counterpart in the TUC, Festus Osifo, expressed their concerns and disappointment over the failure of the government to come to a conclusion and pass the new National Minimum Wage Act into law.

Below are tweets from NLC's X handle about the development:

Workers stop hajj pilgrims

Legit.ng earlier reported that the ongoing strike stopped over 60,000 Muslims from performing their religious rites as aviation workers joined the industrial action.

The protesting workers blocked the planes' paths at the international airports across the country and forced airlines to return to Saudi Arabia empty.

Professor Ishaq Akintola, the executive director of MURIC, urged the workers to suspend the strike immediately and allow Muslims to exercise their spiritual rights.

Proofreading by James Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng