On the night of October 2, 2023, the Organised Labour reached an agreement to suspend the indefinite strike initially scheduled to commence on October 3, 2023, following approximately five hours of negotiations between the Organised Labour and the Federal Government at the Chief of Staff Conference Room of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, conveyed the outcome of the meeting to State House correspondents, announcing, “The NLC and TUC have agreed to suspend the planned indefinite nationwide strike for a duration of 30 days, commencing on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.” Lalong stated that the memorandum would be filed as a consent judgment by the Federal Government in the relevant court of competent jurisdiction within one week.
However, NLC President Joe Ajaero cautioned that the unions would revisit the agreement if the Federal Government failed to meet their demands.
Before this agreement was reached, the Organised Labour had threatened to withdraw from the meeting due to the government’s insistence that the N35,000 provisional salary increment would only last for six months. The labour had accused the government team of backtracking on the previous understanding reached on Sunday night, which stipulated that the N35,000 provisional salary increment, applicable across the board, would remain in effect until a new minimum wage was negotiated and implemented in the following year.
Concluding the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the conclusion of the meeting, Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, announced that the Organised Labour had suspended the planned indefinite strike for a duration of 30 days. The MoU also assigned the Minister of Labour with the responsibility of addressing the issue of withheld salaries of university staff.
