Nigerian Unions Spark Nationwide Outage and Airline Disruptions in Minimum Wage Strike

Nigeria’s main labor unions have commenced an indefinite strike due to the government’s failure to agree on a new minimum wage. This has resulted in the shutdown of the national grid and disruption of airline operations.

This strike marks the fourth by the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) since President Bola Tinubu assumed office last year.

Members of the unions took action by displacing operators at power control rooms and closing down at least six substations, leading to the eventual shutdown of the national grid. Ibom Air, a Nigerian airline, has halted flights until further notice, and United Nigeria announced the closure of airports nationwide.

Electricity and aviation unions have instructed workers to cease their services in adherence to the indefinite strike. The unions are calling for a reversal of the electricity tariff increase for wealthier consumers as the government tries to reduce the economy’s reliance on subsidies.