Minimum wage: Court orders NLC, TUC to stop planned strike

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has ordered the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress not to embark on its indefinite strike scheduled to commence on November 6.

The organised labour had threatened to commence an indefinite strike action in insistence on the increase in the national minimum wage from the current N18,000 to N30,000.

Justice Sanusi Kado, on Friday, gave the order in a ruling on an ex parte application moved on behalf of the Federal Government by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata.

Agreeing with Apata, Justice Kado ruled that if the strike is allowed it would lead to huge economic loss to both public and private institutions and could jeopardise the health of many Nigerians who would not be able to access health facilities during the period.

Labour unions have taken their protests to the streets and also the Presidential Villa in Abuja, however, the Federal Government and governors have not heeded their request.

The last meeting of the tripartite negotiation committee on the minimum wage had ended in deadlock after the Federal Government insisted that it could only afford to pay N25,000, while the governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum had held on to N22,500 and the labour N30,000.

Apart from the NLC and the TUC, the NGF is also joined as a defendant in the suit.

Justice Kado adjourned the matter till November 8 for the hearing of the motion on notice seeking the interlocutory injunction to stop the strike.

The judge ordered that the court order and other papers be filed on all the defendants.

Details soon…