NLC issues 6 key demands as nationwide strike looms

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has laid out an extensive list of demands and is preparing to initiate a nationwide strike starting December 1, 2024, unless state governments implement the new 2024 National Minimum Wage.

The decision, formalized after the NLC’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Port Harcourt, highlights the union’s frustrations with government inaction and emphasizes its stance on worker welfare and economic relief. The following demands and concerns are key points in the NLC’s ultimatum:

1. Immediate Implementation of the 2024 National Minimum Wage

The NLC has directed all state councils to enforce strikes in states that have not complied with the new wage law by November 30. Joe Ajaero, NLC President, condemned the delays, asserting that millions of Nigerian workers face worsening financial hardship.

2. Economic Relief and Wage Review

In addition to the new minimum wage, the NLC is urging the government to review workers’ wages to keep up with soaring inflation. With basic necessities becoming increasingly unaffordable, the union demands immediate interventions to lift citizens out of poverty.

3. Resolution of Fuel Pricing and Oil Industry Monopoly

Decrying the high price of petrol, the NLC demands fair market pricing and insists on the revival of public refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna to break monopolistic control in the oil industry. These measures, they argue, would offer more sustainable fuel prices and ease the burden on Nigerians.

4. Enhanced CNG Transportation and Infrastructure

While appreciating the government’s provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, the NLC has labeled them insufficient to address nationwide transportation gaps. The union also criticized the lack of CNG infrastructure and urged the government to expand it to meet national demand.

5. Increased Social Protection Policies

The union is calling for comprehensive social protection programs to protect Nigerians from poverty and ensure a sustainable living wage. Rising inflation, declining access to energy, and the resurfacing of malnutrition-related diseases are among the NLC’s growing concerns.

6. Revenue Allocations and Release of Protesters

Supporting the workers of Rivers State, the NLC demands fair access to revenue allocations and calls on President Bola Tinubu to release detained protesters nationwide as a means to honor citizens’ rights to peaceful demonstrations.