Labor unions in Africa’s most populous nation on Monday launched an indefinite strike, crippling the electrical grid and shuttering airports, after Nigerian government officials failed to accept a new minimum-wage deal amid the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.
In their fourth strike since President Bola Tinubu assumed office last year, leaders from Nigeria’s two largest unions, the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, forced operators from national electrical grid control rooms, shutting down at least six substations.
The labor revolt comes amid Tinubu’s bold but unpopular economic reforms, which are aimed at stemming the highest inflation in decades and soaring costs of living. With fuel subsidies ended, unions have pressured Tinubu to offer relief to households and small businesses.
Government workers nationwide either failed to show up or shut down entrances to offices, including at airports in the capital, Abuja, and in the economic hub of Lagos. Hundreds of passengers were stranded after local airlines suspended flight operations.
Both unions issued statements calling for members to comply with the strike, and oil unions also threatened to cease production. According to Gbenga Komolafe, Nigeria’s chief oil regulator official, systems are in place to circumvent disruption.
The unions have stated that the strike will last until a new minimum wage is set. Unions want the current minimum monthly wage, which is about $20, to be increased to almost $336 a month. The government has agreed to raise the wage to $40.
“We demand a living wage,” the Nigerian Labour Congress said on X, calling their current wage a “starvation wage.”
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
