The country’s organized labor leaders decided to consult with organizations and workers first about the best course of action to be taken regarding the impending strike action after Sunday’s meeting with the federal government delegation.

In order to avoid the strike action that had been called by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the federal administration met with labor leaders on Sunday in Abuja.

Following the discussion, the government reportedly made some concessions, according to a statement released by the minister of information, Mohammed Idris.

This includes a N35,000 provisional wage increase for all federal government employees paid by the treasury for six months, a pledge to speed up the installation of compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to ease public transportation challenges brought on by the elimination of the PMS subsidy, the elimination of the value-added tax (VAT) on diesel for the following six months, and the payment of N75,000 to 15 million households at a rate of N25,000 per month for three months from October to December 2023.

Additionally, the government stipulated that in order for the concessions to be honored, workers must be present.

In reaction to the government’s stance, NLC President Joe Ajaero said that the organization is taking into account the promises made to the employees before deciding whether or not to move forward with the planned strike.

“I don’t have much to say than the Chief of Staff has said. We’ve been meeting and we’ve looked at almost all the issues, all the promissory notes from the government and we’ll look at how to translate them to reality and to be workable.

“Then we’re going to take those promises to our organs, of course, you know these people here cannot just wake up and review and call off action.

“So like he said, we’re hopeful that our organs will have a look at them and give us a fresh mandate on what next to do. So it’s a simple one.”

The meeting’s labour delegation included NLC President Joe Ajaero, TUC Deputy President Dr. Tommy Etim Okon, NLC General Secretary Emma Ugboaja, and TUC General Secretary Nuhu Toro, among others.