Oyindamola Ogunbowale
Public servants across Nigeria have begun a three day warning strike following the Federal Government’s failure to address demands concerning rising economic hardship and workers’ welfare.
The industrial action, which began today, Friday, October 2, will run until Sunday, October 4, with workers across the federal, state and local government services directed to participate.
The warning strike was announced ahead of the Independence Day celebration after public servants gave the government until September 30 to respond to their demands.
They had warned that failure to meet the deadline would trigger the three-day action from October 2.
Among the key demands are a reduction in the price of petrol to ₦500 per litre, an immediate wage award to cushion the impact of rising living costs, and the commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage expected to take effect in 2027.
The workers had also expected the issues to be addressed in President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day broadcast on October 1.
With no resolution before the deadline, the planned action went ahead as scheduled.
The strike is expected to affect activities in government ministries, departments, agencies and other public institutions during the three-day period.
