After hours of deliberations between the federal government, the Nigeria Labour Congress, and the Trade Union Congress,  the unions have suspended the indefinite strike slated for Tuesday, October 3, 2023.

The labour bodies had declared an indefinite strike following the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

However, after a marathon meeting with the representatives of the federal government at the State House, on Monday, the organized labour announced the suspension of their planned strike for 30 days to allow the government to implement some of its promises.

A memorandum of understanding issued after the meeting was signed by Comrade Joe Ajaero, President NLC, Comrade (Engr) Festus Osifo, TUC President, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, General Secretary NLC and Comrade Nuhu A. Toro, Secretary General, TUC.

The message read: “A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WAS REACHED BETWEEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA AND THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC) AND TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF NIGERIA (TUC) AS A RESULT OF A DISPUTE ARISING FROM THE WITHDRAWAL OF SUBSIDY ON THE PRICE OF PREMIUM MOTOR SPIRIT (PMS) ON MONDAY, THE 2ND DAY OF OCTOBER, 2023.

“Arising from the withdrawal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the Federal Government and the resultant increase in the price of the commodity, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) issued a strike notice which had elapsed and they were poised to embark on a strike billed to commence on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Consequently, a meeting was called by the Federal Government to avert the strike, and after much discussion.”

10 key highlights of NLC, TUC’s 15-point agreements with the FG:

1. The Federal Government grants a wage award of N35,000 (thirty-five thousand Naira) only to all Federal Government workers beginning from September pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.

2. A minimum wage committee shall be inaugurated within one month from the date of this agreement.
3. The Federal Government suspends the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) on Diesel for six months beginning from October 2023.
4. The Federal Government accepts to vote N100 billion for the provision of high-capacity CNG buses for mass transit in Nigeria. Provisions are also being made for an initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits to kick start an autogas conversion programme whilst work is ongoing on state-of-the-art CNG stations nationwide. The rollout aims to commence by November with pilots across ten campuses nationwide.
5. The Federal Government plans to implement various tax incentive measures for the private and general sectors. 6. On the leadership crises rocking the NURTW and the purported proscription of RTEAN, the Federal Government commits to handling Labour matters in line with relevant ILO Conventions and Nigerian Labour Acts. A resolution of the ongoing impasse is expected by or before October October 13.
6. The issue of outstanding Salaries and Wages of Tertiary Education workers in Federal-owned educational institutions is being referred to the Ministry of Labour and Employment for further engagement.
7. The Federal Government commits to pay N25,000 per month for three months starting from October 2023 to 15 million households, including vulnerable pensioners.
8. The Federal Government will increase its initiatives on subsidized distribution of fertilizers to farmers across the country.
9. The Federal Government should urge the State Government through the National Economic Council and Governors Forum to implement wage awards for their workers. Similar consideration should also be given to local government and private sector workers.
10. The Federal Government commits to the provision of funds as announced by the President on August 1 broadcast to the Nation for Micro and Small Scale Enterprises. The MSME beneficiaries should commit to the principle of decent jobs. 12. A joint visitation will be made to the refineries to ascertain their rehabilitation status.
11. All parties commit to henceforth abide by the dictates of Social dialogue in all our future engagements.
12. The NLC and TUC accept to suspend for 30 days the planned Indefinite Nationwide strike scheduled to begin Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
13. This Memorandum shall be filed with the relevant Court of competent jurisdiction within one (1) week as consent judgment by the Federal Government.”