FG calls emergency meeting with labour leaders Tuesday as Labour shuts down National Assembly, National Grid, others; Nigeria in complete darkness
Nigeria’s government through the National Salaries, Wages, and Income Commission, has extended an invitation to the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) as part of efforts to put an end to the ongoing strike by organized labour.
But it is unclear if the labour leaders will attend the meeting.
Reports indicate that some unions have shut down their workplaces in compliance with the directive to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike.
Members of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) have shut down the National Assembly in compliance with the indefinite strike declared by organized labour.
The entrance and exit of the National Assembly are currently under lock and key, preventing staff from gaining access and bringing activities in the assembly to a halt.
Seyi Abayomi, a staff member at the Senate reported that no staff have been able to enter the premises. He also mentioned that the striking labour union has cut off the power supply to the National Assembly.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) began their indefinite strike on Monday after a last-minute intervention by the National Assembly on Sunday night failed to resolve the issues.
The labour unions however said that they would present the plea from the National Assembly’s leadership to their respective organs for consideration. Senate President Godswill Akpabio has expressed his optimism that the labour unions will call off the strike following their four-hour meeting with the organized labour leadership.
Meanwhile, organised labour has shut down the national grid as it begins nationwide strike on Monday.
The General Manager, Public Affairs of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Ndidi Mba said this in a press statement on Monday.
The statement reads,” I hereby informs the general public that the Labour Union has shut down the national grid, resulting in black out nationwide. The national grid shut down occurred at about 2.19am this morning, 3rd June 2024.
At about 1:15am this morning, the Benin Transmission Operator under the Independent System Operations unit of TCN reported that all operators were driven away from the control room and that staff that resisted were beaten while some were wounded in the course of forcing them out of the control room and without any form of control or supervision, the Benin Area Control Center was brought to zero.
Other transmission substations that were shut down, by the Labour Union include the Ganmo, Benin, Ayede, Olorunsogo, Akangba and Osogbo Transmission Substations. Some transmission lines were equally opened due to the ongoing activities of the labour union.
On the power generating side, power generating units from different generating stations were forced to shut down some units of their generating plants, the Jebba Generating Station was forced to shut down one of its generating units while three others in the same substation subsequently shut down on very high frequency. The sudden forced load cuts led to high frequency and system instability, which eventually shut down the national grid at 2:19am.
At about 3.23am, however, TCN commenced grid recovery, using the Shiroro Substation to attempt to feed the transmission lines supplying bulk electricity to the Katampe Transmission Substation. The situation is such that the Labour Union is still obstructing grid recovery nationwide.
We will continue to make effort to recover and stabilize the grid to enable the restoration of normal bulk transmission of electricity to distribution load centres nationwide.
Also, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has shut down all major seaports across the country in compliance with the directive of both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to join the indefinite strike action, which commenced today, over the failure in negotiations of a new minimum wage.
Our correspondent, who visited the Lagos Port Complex Apapa this morning, observed that many port workers, clearing and forwarding agents and truck drivers were denied entry into the port.
The unions have also shut the gates to the Tin Island Port, Lagos as well as Onne and Rivers ports in Rivers State.
On Friday, organized labour announced the strike would commence at midnight on Sunday, June 2, 2024, due to the Federal Government’s refusal to raise the proposed minimum wage from N60,000.
“The strike will begin at midnight on Sunday, June 2, 2024,” said NLC President Joe Ajaero. In a joint statement, Ajaero and his TUC counterpart, Festus Osifo, expressed their disappointment over the government’s failure to finalize and pass a new National Minimum Wage Act. They also demanded the reversal of the electricity tariff increase to N65/kWh.
The unions had given a deadline of May 31, 2024, for negotiations on the new minimum wage. However, talks broke down on Tuesday after both parties presented their offers.
The government increased its initial offer from N57,000 to N60,000, which labour rejected. Labour, in turn, lowered their demand from N497,000 to N494,000.