Nigeria Unions Suspend Strike That Halted Power, Airports

(Bloomberg) -- Labor unions in Nigeria suspended their general strike that shut down the power grid and disrupted services at key airports as they continue talks with the government on a new minimum wage.

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The industrial action called by two of the West African nation’s largest labor federations on Monday triggered a nationwide blackout and disrupted airport services.

The unions suspended the strike to enable an accord on wages, said Abudul Rasaq Saidu, secretary general of the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals.

The two sides agreed on Monday to hold talks daily for the next week until an agreement is reached, according to a June 3 statement signed by Nigeria’s information and labor ministers. The government committed to a minimum wage of more than 60,000 naira ($40) a month, and has asked labor unions to immediately decide on the offer, they said.

There’s been no indication from airport authorities that services have resumed after being disrupted on Monday by the work stoppage.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria said the national grid was shut down in the early hours of Monday morning as a result of the strike. Nigeria’s airport authority said services had been affected, with travelers separately reporting being stranded at the commercial hub of Lagos and Abuja, the capital, after their flights were canceled.

The operator of the main domestic terminal in Lagos cautioned in an X post on Monday afternoon that operations continue to be “significantly affected” by the strike. Air Peace, Nigeria’s largest carrier, said in a separate post on X that only its regional and international flights were operating on Monday.

Unions want a more than 10-fold increase in the minimum wage to 400,000 naira a month from 30,000 naira in response to a cost-of-living crisis amid spiraling inflation, after the government scrapped costly fuel and electricity subsidies. They also want a “vexatious” hike in electricity tariffs to be reversed. The government has offered to double the minimum wage to 60,000 naira.

“Nigerian workers, who are the backbone of our nation’s economy, deserve fair and decent wages that reflect the current economic realities,” the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Nigeria Trade Union Congress said in a statement.

The Justice Ministry called the strikes “premature, ineffectual and illegal,” and urged the unions to return to the negotiating table.

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