Public servants set October 2 warning strike over petrol price, wage award

Public servants have threatened a three-day warning strike from October 2 if the Federal Government does not address their demands on petrol price, wage award and minimum-wage talks.

The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council said the September 30 deadline it gave President Bola Tinubu still stood. The council wants petrol reduced to N500 per litre, a wage award announced and talks opened on a new national minimum wage from 2027.

Members of the council include the Nigerian Civil Service Union, the Medical and Health Workers Union, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives.

Vanguard reported that the Nigeria Labour Congress backed the public-sector unions’ threat. Punch reported that the council had directed public servants nationwide to prepare for the warning strike if the government failed to respond before the deadline.

The unions said the demands were tied to the cost of petrol and the pressure on workers’ incomes. The warning strike is expected to last three days if it begins on October 2.

Sources: Punch, Vanguard