NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS STRIKE ULTIMATUM ESCALATES TENSION BETWEEN ORGANISED LABOUR AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OVER MINIMUM WAGE IMPLEMENTATION

NLC leadership firmly insists two-week strike warning remains active while criticizing post-2024 salary adjustments and demanding immediate wage renegotiations

Tension between Organised Labour and the Federal Government has intensified as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) reaffirmed that its two-week strike ultimatum remains active, rejecting preliminary government responses regarding wage reviews and economic relief measures.

Speaking during a public service retreat, NLC President Joe Ajaero declared that the ultimatum issued to the Federal Government stands firm, dismissing attempts to frame informal exchanges or civil service meetings as formal negotiation sessions.

Addressing government officials, the union leader highlighted the severe economic hardships facing Nigerian workers, criticizing the post-2024 minimum wage salary adjustments and disputing claims that federal public servants received wage increases amounting to 133 percent.

Ajaero clarified that the actual federal salary adjustment amounted to a flat addition of ₦40,000 across tiers, asserting that such fixed top-ups fail to reflect percentage claims or mitigate the impact of escalating living costs and fuel prices.

In response to mounting labor pressures, the Federal Government urged organized labor to consider fiscal realities and balance salary demands with the state's financial capacity, maintaining that formal wage reviews are structured around established statutory timelines.

With the expiration of the two-week ultimatum approaching, organized labor warned that failure by federal authorities to initiate genuine bilateral negotiations could lead to a nationwide industrial action across critical public and private sector services.