PUBLIC SERVICE WORKERS BEGIN THREE-DAY WARNING STRIKE

Public service workers across Nigeria have begun a three-day warning strike over rising economic pressures and what their representatives described as worsening hardship among workers and their dependants.

The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council directed its national and state structures to mobilise workers for the strike, which began at midnight on Friday, October 2, and is scheduled to end on Sunday, October 4, 2026.

The directive was contained in a circular dated October 1 and signed by the council’s National Secretary, Olowoyo Gbenga. 

The council said the action followed the Federal Government’s failure to respond to concerns raised in a letter sent to President Bola Tinubu on September 21.

It called on workers in federal, state and local government services to participate in the industrial action, citing the rising cost of living and declining purchasing power.

Among the council’s earlier demands are a reduction in petrol prices, an immediate wage award and the commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage ahead of 2027.

The council had also proposed reducing the petrol pump price to N500 per litre and establishing a tripartite committee to negotiate a new minimum wage.

The strike comes amid continuing concerns over the cost of food, transportation and other essential goods.

As of the time of the circular, the council maintained that the warning strike would proceed as planned. Efforts to obtain a response from the Ministry of Labour were unsuccessful.