President Bola Tinubu has granted an additional ₦10,000 allowance to workers for a duration of six months. This decision comes in response to a crucial meeting held between Federal Government officials and labor leaders on Sunday, aimed at averting an impending nationwide strike.
During the meeting, chaired by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, it was unanimously agreed to extend the ₦25,000 wage increase, initially promised to low-cadre workers for six months, to all workers.
However, it’s worth noting that the labor leaders reportedly declined this offer and insisted on further concessions.
Shortly after these developments were reported, the presidency issued a statement announcing the additional ₦10,000 increment:
“The Federal Government, in a meeting held on Sunday, October 1, 2023, with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), discussed measures to address the dispute arising from the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
During the meeting, the following key points were acknowledged:
i) The Federal Government has provisionally set the wage award at ₦35,000 for all treasury-paid federal government workers for a period of six months, following extensive consultations with President Bola Tinubu.
ii) The Federal Government is committed to expediting the provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to alleviate the public transportation challenges linked to the removal of PMS subsidy.
iii) The Federal Government has pledged to allocate funds to support micro and small-scale enterprises.
In light of the discussions held during the meeting, the following highlights emerged:
The Federal Government appealed to the Labor unions to refrain from embarking on strike action, emphasizing that the issues in dispute can only be resolved when workers are actively engaged.
The Labor Unions advocated for a higher wage award, leading to the formation of a sub-committee tasked with working out the implementation details of all government interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.
The labor delegation was led by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, Dr. Tommy Etim Okon, Deputy President of TUC, NLC General Secretary, Emma Ugboaja, TUC General Secretary, Nuhu Toro, and other prominent members.”
