The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Monday explained the decision of workers in the electricity sector to shut down the national grid.
In a statement made available to journalists, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, faulted the Transmission Company of Nigeria over claims that the monitoring and compliance team of NLC attacked workers manning their facilities.
The TCN had announced the complete shutdown of Nigeria’s power grid by labour unions as the strike by the labour unions began.
NLC and the Trade Union Congress commenced a nationwide industrial action on Monday in protest against the N60,000 minimum wage proposal of the Federal Government.
Announcing the shutdown of the national grid in a statement issued on Monday morning by TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, the transmission firm said the action was deliberately done by the workers.
But the NLC said Nigerian workers would not be intimidated by any form of falsehood dished out by TCN or any other agency or organisation of the government.
The NLC statement read, “The Nigeria Labour Congress categorically states that Nigerian workers will not be intimidated by the management of any organisation or government entity over our rightful decision to withdraw services through the indefinite nationwide strike that commenced earlier this morning.
“The spreading of outright falsehood to mislead the public instead of working with other stakeholders to resolve the issues raised by Nigerian workers via the NLC and TUC is not helpful in any way.”
The statement further said, “It will rather inflame the anger of the suffering masses who are already burdened by the cruel policies of the federal government.
“It is important that we address the press statement by the Transmission Company of Nigeria where they made false claims regarding the indefinite nationwide strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria should understand that the company is not the only one impacted by the massive withdrawal of service across the nation by Nigerian workers. It should therefore not make it a TCN affair, as other organisations also suffer from one breakdown in service or the other as a result of the nationwide industrial action.
“The management of TCN ought to have realised that the NLC and TUC issued a notice to the Federal Government since the beginning of May 2024 on the issues of non-completion of the National Minimum Wage negotiation exercise and passage into Law and the vexatious hike in electricity tariff. We had demanded the completion of the wage-setting process and a reversal of the hike in electricity tariff back to N66/kWh without any positive response from the government.
“The NLC and TUC remain steadfast in their commitment to the emancipation of downtrodden Nigerians and will persist in the struggle for a fair and just living wage, as well as the reversal of the excessive electricity tariff hike. We call on all Nigerians to stand in solidarity with us as we demand the implementation of policies that prioritize the well-being of the people. We will not back down, and we will not give in to any blackmail, intimidation, or harassment.”
