Minimum wage: Labour ends 16-day strike in Nasarawa, signs agreement with govt

The organised labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, have ended a 16-day-old industrial action in Nasarawa State following a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the labour and the government.

The state chairman of the NLC, Ismaila Okoh, made the disclosure while speaking with journalists shortly after the agreement between the NLC, TUC, and the state government at the Government House, Lafia, the state capital, on Monday.

Okoh expressed gratitude to the members of the unions for their commitment and resilience, which made the industrial action a huge success.

He said, “We thank the Nasarawa State workers for their commitment, for their resilience, and for their patience. We were on indefinite strike for two weeks and two days, and we have been closing ranks with the government of Nasarawa State regarding to the negotiations on the new minimum wage in the state.

“After extensive deliberations, a far-reaching decision has been taken. We agreed on certain terms, and today, the organised labour and the government of Nasarawa State have signed an agreement and resolved that the N70,500 minimum wage is going to be implemented for workers of Nasarawa State.

“In view of the above, therefore, we really commend the resilience of the workers of Nasarawa State and of course, the government, to have arrived at that decision.

“Having said that, you are aware that after everything, there must be something, and that is to say that agreement has been signed.

“We are now calling on our fellow workers of Nasarawa State that as from today, being December 16, 2024, the indefinite strike embarked upon by the organised labour in Nasarawa State has been suspended.”

The NLC chairman further urged all the workers of Nasarawa State to return to their various offices tomorrow to continue with their normal jobs.

Also speaking on the agreement reached with the state government, the state chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Mohammed Doma, explained that the point of contention was that of the consequential adjustment, noting that initially, it was N2,000 and N200, respectively.

He said, “Now I am happy to say that there is an increase to N30,000, N28,000, N18,000, N14,000, so on and so forth.”

“You know that when you are on strike, you don’t get everything 100 per cent. At least we have been able to shift grounds on both sides. We have at least gotten something reasonable that we can give to their members.”

Earlier, the Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, while signing the pact with the organised labour, assured them that none of their members would be victimised as a result of the industrial action.