Africa

Nigerian unions shut down power grid, disrupt airlines with strike over minimum wage

Nigerians protest against high cost of living and massive suffering following a hike in petrol and devaluation of the Naira in Abuja, Nigeria February 27, 2024. (Photo: Abraham Achirga/Reuters)

By Reuters | Monday, June 3, 2024

This strike is the fourth undertaken by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), two of the country's biggest union federations, since President Bola Tinubu took office last year.

Nigeria's main labour unions shut down the national grid on Monday and disrupted flights across the country as they began an indefinite strike over the government's failure to agree to a new minimum wage.

This strike is the fourth undertaken by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), two of the country's biggest union federations, since President Bola Tinubu took office last year.

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The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said union members drove operators away at the country's power control rooms and shut down at least six substations, eventually shutting down the national grid at 2.19 am (0119 GMT).

Nigerian airline, Ibom Air, said it was suspending flights until further notice due to the strike, while another, United Nigeria, said airports across the country had been shut down and striking workers had permitted none of its flights to operate.

Electricity and aviation unions said in a statement on Monday they had directed members to withdraw their services in compliance with the indefinite strike.

The oil unions also threatened to halt oil production, but Nigeria's oil regulator chief Gbenga Komolafe said contingencies were in place to ensure output was not disrupted by the strike.

Since taking office, Tinubu has embarked on Nigeria's boldest reforms, which have fuelled a rise in inflation to an almost 30-year high and worsened a cost-of-living crisis in Africa's most populous nation.

He has been under pressure from unions to offer relief to households and small businesses after scrapping subsidies on petrol, which kept fuel cheap but cost the government $10 billion a year.

Unions declared an indefinite strike on Friday after talks for a new minimum wage meant to cushion the impact of reforms collapsed. They said the strike would last until a new minimum wage was in place.

The TCN said it was making an effort to recover and stabilise the national grid, but unions were obstructing grid recovery nationwide.

Unions have also demanded a reversal of an electricity tariff hike effected last month for better-off consumers who use the most power, as the government tries to wean the economy off subsidies.

On Thursday, Nigeria's privatisation body said the country had secured a World Bank loan of $500 million for its electricity sector.