Public sector workers have threatened to embark on a three-day warning strike from Friday, October 2, if the Federal Government fails to address their demands over the rising cost of living.
The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) said its September 30 deadline for the government to act on the demands remains in effect.
The council is demanding a reduction in petrol prices to ₦500 per litre, approval of a wage award for workers and the immediate commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage of at least ₦500,000 from 2027.
In a statement, JNPSNC National Secretary, Gbenga Olowoyo, said workers had been mobilised for the planned industrial action if the government failed to respond to their demands.
The council urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to reduce the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, to ₦500 per litre.
It also called for the approval of a wage award for Nigerian workers to cushion the impact of prevailing economic difficulties on workers, their dependants and other vulnerable Nigerians.
The council said the President’s Independence Day address should adequately address the issues raised by the workers.
It warned that failure by the Federal Government to act on the demands by September 30 would leave workers with “no option” but to commence a three-day warning strike from October 2.
Olowoyo said the council had written to President Bola Tinubu on September 21 but expressed dissatisfaction that no visible action had been taken on the demands.
The workers suggested that the government could reduce petrol prices by providing an intervention fund to address landing costs and supporting oil and gas operators.
They also urged the government to ensure the sale of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery and modular refinery operators at appropriate terms to boost domestic refining and reduce the cost of petroleum products.
On the minimum wage, the JNPSNC called for the urgent establishment of a tripartite committee to negotiate a new national minimum wage.
The council said the committee was necessary to prevent administrative or procedural delays that could affect the implementation of a new minimum wage once it is negotiated and passed into law by the National Assembly.
The JNPSNC comprises eight public sector unions, including the Nigeria Civil Service Union, Medical and Health Workers Union, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives.
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