The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has described the Nationwide strike action scheduled to begin tomorrow, June 3, by the organized labour as premature, ineffectual and illegal.
He therefore asked the main labour unions: the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to reconsider the strike.
The justice minister, in a letter to the leadership of both unions today, June 2, said that the decision to embark on a strike was made at a time when the Federal Government and other stakeholders involved in the Tripartite Committee on the determination of a new national minimum wage had not declared an end to negotiations.
He said that there is the need to balance the interests and capacities of all employers of labour in the country, including the Organized Private Sector, to determine a minimum wage for the working population.
The Attorney-General said that the unions have failed to comply with the statutory condition precedents provided under the Trade Disputes Act 2004 and the Trade Unions Act, which require the issuance of a mandatory 15-day strike notice and adherence to dispute resolution procedures.
He said that the proposed strike action is at variance with an interim injunctive order granted by the National Industrial Court in June 2023, which restrained the unions from embarking on any industrial action or strike.
The Attorney General acknowledged the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the government and labour in October 2023 to address the consequences of fuel subsidy removal, even as he asked the unions to return to the ongoing negotiation meetings in the spirit of collective bargaining and pursue their cause within the ambit of the law to avoid imposing avoidable hardships on Nigerians.
He promised that the government will continue to adopt a conciliatory approach to resolving matters pertaining to workers’ and citizens’ welfare.
