After a four-hour meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly on Sunday evening in Abuja, the leadership of the Organised Labour confirmed that the nationwide industrial action scheduled to start on Monday, June 3, 2024, will proceed as planned.

“For now, we don’t have the power to call off the strike. Tomorrow (Monday) morning, the strike will kick off as we take their (NASS) plea asking us to call off the strike to our various organs,” stated Festus Osifo following the meeting with the National Assembly leadership.

Earlier, Osifo, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and Joe Ajaero, his counterpart in the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), met with Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas in Abuja.

The meeting was part of the legislators’ last-minute efforts to persuade aggrieved workers to abandon their planned industrial action for a new minimum wage.

The National Assembly said the meeting was to “avert the impending industrial action” to commence on Monday, June 3, 2024, “which would have severe repercussions on the populace and economy”.

The decision of the Organised Labour followed the deadlock between the Federal Government and the unions over a new national minimum wage and reversal of the recent hike in electricity tariffs.

The Chairmen of the Senate and House Committees on Labour, Employment and Productivity respectively, Diket Plang, and Adegboyega Adefarati, were also at the meeting.