Strike: Workers Shut Down 4 States over New Minimum Wage, Details Emerge

• Labour unions are demanding the full implementation of the N70,000 national minimum wage signed by President Tinubu as one-week strike commenced in four states
• Workers under the NLC and the TUC, in affected states, including Kaduna and Nasarawa, are protesting the delay in the implementation of the new N70,000 wage
• Interestingly, some governors who have approved the N70,000 wage have threatened to dismissed workers participating in the ongoing industrial action

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

Workers in Kaduna, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, and Cross River states have commenced a one-week warning strike to demand the implementation of the N70,000 new national minimum wage and consequential adjustments.

Workers in 4 states demand new minimum wage implementation

The strike action, which started on December 2, follows a directive from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for workers in states where the new minimum wage has not been implemented.

In Nasarawa state, public offices, including the State House of Assembly, courts, and ministries, were shut down.

As reported by Daily Trust on Tuesday, December 3, Comrade Ismaila Okoh, chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Nasarawa, said while the government verbally committed to a N70,500 minimum wage, it failed to provide written agreements.

He emphasised workers’ readiness to continue the strike if the government does not act.

The NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) cited the government’s failure to implement wage adjustments despite paying a N72,000 minimum gross salary.

Governors threaten dismissal as workers strike

Labour unions in Cross River state rejected the government’s announcement of a N70,000 minimum wage, stating that other demands, including the payment of delayed salaries for newly hired workers, remain unmet.

State offices in Calabar were shut as labour leaders planned further meetings to decide on the strike’s continuation.

Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi state threatened to sack and replace striking workers within 72 hours.

However, labour leaders maintain that the new minimum wage is non-negotiable and are determined to hold state governments accountable to national directives.

Read more about new minimum wage here:

• Workers receive new minimum wage in Rivers
• Minimum wage: Nasarawa govt agrees to pay higher remuneration, details emerge

NLC sends message to governors over minimum wage

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the NLC said nothing had changed about his December 1 ultimatum to state governors who failed to implement the new minimum wage.

The NLC announced the end of November 2024 as the deadline for the new minimum wage implementation. It was gathered that many state governors are trying to meet the deadline.

The NLC’s head of protocol and public relations, Benson Upah, said the December 1 ultimatum to state governors still stands - “Yes, the ultimatum still stands. Nothing has changed.”

Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng