By Milcah Tanimu

Banks and bankers across Nigeria have been instructed to adhere to the strike order issued by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in protest over the new national minimum wage for workers. This directive was issued by the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) through a statement signed by its general secretary, Muhammed Ishivaku Sheikh.

Sheikh emphasized that the strike aims to pressure the federal government to agree on and legislate a new national minimum wage, as well as to reverse the recent increase in electricity tariffs.

NUBIFIE’s statement stressed the importance of full compliance with the strike, which began on Monday, June 3, 2024. The statement read:

“This is to inform all NUBIFIE Organs that the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has directed all its affiliates to commence an indefinite strike starting from Monday, the 3rd of June, 2024. The objectives of the strike are to compel the Federal Government to:
1. Agree on a new national minimum wage and pass it into law before the end of this month as previously notified.
2. Reverse the hike in electricity tariffs from N225/kwh back to N66/kwh without consulting the stakeholders as required by law.
3. Stop the discriminatory categorization of Nigerian electricity into bands.

In total compliance with the directives from the Nigeria Labour Congress, you are hereby directed to mobilize for effective participation in your respective Zonal Councils/Domestic Committees. Ensure total compliance!”

Despite this directive, some bank branches did not fully comply, with workers seen attending to customers at their duty posts.

In Lagos, members of the NLC reportedly disrupted operations at a branch of Polaris Bank on Monday, preventing customers from accessing services as they enforced the strike action.

Further updates are expected as the situation develops.