The two-day warning strike embarked on by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) recorded partial compliance in some parts of the country on its first day. The NLC had last week declared a two-day warning strike over the impact of petrol subsidy removal on the masses. Labour had accused the federal government of abandoning negotiations with the union. The congress also said the government has failed to implement some of the resolutions reached at previous meetings.
On Monday, the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) said its members would join the industrial action. Reacting to the development, Minister of labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, appealed to the NLC to suspend the strike. Lalong also pleaded with the NLC to give the government some time to settle and address the issues on the ground.
On the first day of the strike, commercial activities in most cities across Nigeria continued apace, with a lull in the financial services sector. In some parts of FCT and Lagos, some banks were open to customers while some filling stations were seen attending to motorists. In Kaduna, government offices, banks and other financial institutions were shut in compliance with the industrial action.
In Ondo State, after some officials of the Nigerian Labour Congress NLC stormed some government offices in the state to enforce the union’s strike and ended up engaging in a fight with some of the civil servants. Thus far Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, and Oyo have complied fully with the strike action.
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