ASUU, PENGASSAN &13 others direct members to shut down and join nation -wide strike

Fifteen unions affiliated with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) , including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), have directed their members to join the nationwide strike.

Some of the circulars sighted by ChannelsTV include those from the Medical and Health Workers Union, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, and the National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees which all direct members to fully enforce the industrial action.

Memos from the education sector directing the same compliance came from the College of Education Academic Staff Union, Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, Nigeria Union of Teachers, and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics, as members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities also mobilise for the strike.

Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) have also asked its members nationwide to down tools.

The organised labour representatives in the ongoing negotiation for a new minimum wage, namely the NLC and the Tuc had on Friday declared a nationwide indefinite strike following a disagreement in the negotiations for a new minimum wage for workers.

The two labour centres also cited the refusal of the government to reverse the recent hike in the price of electricity tariff as an additional reason for the strike.

Several efforts and appeals from the Federal Government, asking the workers to shelve the strike failed.

At the sixth meeting of the tripartite committee for the new minimum wage, the Federal Government and the organised private sector representatives offered to pay N60,000 for the new wage.

This offer was vehemently rejected by the organised labour which insisted on N494,000 as the minimum wage for workers.

While the Federal Government continues to emphasise the inability to sustain the payment of such wages, owing to the nation’s dwindling revenue, organised labour has cited the rising cost of living, and the current value of the naira as justification for their demands.