The Nigerian economy was partially paralysed on Monday following the nationwide strike embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.
The nation’s power sector, banks, ports, hospitals, schools, government ministries, departments and agencies were all shut down following the labour unions’ strike.
The labour unions declared a strike after it failed to reach an agreement with the Federal Government on the new minimum wage.
The Punch reported earlier that the organised labour on Friday declared a nationwide strike, which would begin on Monday over the Federal Government’s refusal to raise the proposed minimum wage from N60,000 and reverse the Band A tariff to N65 per kilowatt-hour instead of N206/KWh.
The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, stated that the indefinite strike would begin by midnight on Monday.
The NLC leader, who read from a jointly prepared speech alongside his TUC counterpart, Festus Osifo, expressed what he described as “grave concern and disappointment” over the Federal Government’s failure to conclude and pass into law a new National Minimum Wage Act, and reverse the hike in electricity tariff to N65/kWh.
As the Presidency and the National Assembly failed to pacify the workers on Sunday, members of the National Union of Electricity Employees swung into action by shutting down the national grid, plunging the nation into darkness.
Some NUEE members who were on duty were reportedly forced to comply with the industrial action.
Checks by our correspondents confirmed that there was no trace of power generation on the national grid as of 8am on Monday. The distribution companies received no power allocation, except the Abuja disco which had only 10 megawatts later in the day.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria said its workers on duty were beaten and wounded by union leaders who stormed its offices to send them out.
TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, said, “At about 1:15 am this (Monday) morning, the Benin Transmission Operator under the Independent System Operations unit of TCN reported that all operators were driven away from the control room and that staff that resisted were beaten while some were wounded in the course of forcing them out of the control room and without any form of control or supervision, the Benin Area Control Centre was brought to zero.
“Other transmission substations that were shut down, by the Labour Union include the Ganmo, Benin, Ayede, Olorunsogo, Akangba and Osogbo Transmission Substations. Some transmission lines were equally opened due to the ongoing activities of the labour union.”
But the National President of the NUEE, Adebiyi Adeyeye, debunked the allegation, saying the union only withdrew its members in compliance with the directive of the organised labour.
“Does the TCN have evidence on that? You and I know there was a directive from the NLC and TUC to withdraw services, and not to come to work, and that’s what we did. It is a false claim if anyone claims that they came to their facility to beat them up. It is not true. Don’t come to work, that’s what we heard, and we obeyed it,” Adeyeye stated.
Grid remains shut
The NUEE said its members would not return to their duty posts until the organised labour calls off the strike.
Asked if the union was considering the impact of the grid shutdown on the economy, the NUEE boss replied, “What have we done differently? They said Nigerian workers should withdraw their services and that’s what we did. No one should see us as either saboteurs or traitors, we are not one. We love our dear country, and we want Nigeria to succeed.”
On whether the union would return to work if the Federal Government reached an agreement with labour on the minimum wage while retaining the Band A tariff hike, he retorted, “All of us are into it together. Your N10,000 cannot buy you just 500 units of electricity now.
“If the government pays the minimum wage and fails to reverse the tariff, all of us will be there to see what will happen at the end of the day. But I won’t confirm to you if we are going to take further action on it or not now. But what we are talking about now is a directive from the TUC and NLC which is crucial at this particular hour. We have to obey the leadership of the union. That’s what we are doing at the moment.”
Labour pickets banks
Members of the labour unions picketed some banks on Lagos Island on Monday, even as many banks across the country ran skeletal services.