The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has announced an indefinite strike in states that have yet to implement the newly signed minimum wage law, demanding justice for workers who have been left without their legally mandated pay increase.
The minimum wage law, signed by President Bola Tinubu on 29 July 2024, raised Nigeria’s minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000. However, despite the law being in effect, some state governments have failed to implement the pay increase, prompting frustration among workers and union leaders.
In a statement after a national executive council meeting, the NLC expressed “deep frustration” at some state governments’ refusal to enforce the wage increase. The union said that failure to implement the new wage is a “blatant disregard for the law and the lives of millions of Nigerian workers.”
The NLC criticized certain governors, describing their inaction as a “betrayal” and a move against both “legality and morality” amid Nigeria’s current economic hardships.
The NLC announced it would form a National Minimum Wage Implementation Committee to monitor the situation, raise awareness, and urge workers and citizens to resist what it described as an “assault on their dignity and rights.”
The union warned that from December 1, 2024, all NLC state councils in states not yet compliant with the minimum wage law should go on strike.
“Nigerian workers demand justice, and justice they shall have,” the NLC declared, urging workers to act if their demands continue to be ignored.
The NLC also highlighted the “accelerating economic hardship” affecting Nigerian citizens, saying many people are forced to choose between feeding their families and seeking healthcare. Rising living costs, particularly in energy, have worsened poverty, with the union citing the resurgence of malnutrition-related diseases like Kwashiorkor and Marasmus.
The NLC called on the Federal Government to introduce “immediate, concrete interventions” to relieve the financial burdens on citizens, demanding comprehensive social protection policies, affordable healthcare, and wages that reflect living costs.