The national grid is back up and running, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) confirmed, after the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress agreed to suspend their strike, ending power outages across the country.
Adebiyi Adeyeye, the union’s top dog, spilled the beans in a chat with newsmen on Tuesday, confirming the restoration of the national grid.
“The strike has been suspended, which means the grid has come back to normal. It is on already,” Adeyeye told our correspondent over the phone.
Sources in the know revealed to Africa Today News, New York, that a nationwide labor strike kicked off on Monday, sparked by the Federal Government’s stubborn refusal to budge on a higher minimum wage and reduced electricity tariffs.
As the strike kicked off, electricity workers took drastic action, pulling the plug on the national grid and plunging Nigeria into darkness in the wee hours of Monday morning.
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On Monday, the Transmission Company of Nigeria accused union leaders of launching a vicious attack on its staff, injuring several, as they forcibly took over the company’s offices, according to a statement released by the company.
According to Adeyeye, the union’s actions were grossly misrepresented, and in reality, they had simply heeded the call from organized labor to withdraw their members from the workplace.
The labor movement has temporarily shelved its industrial action, opting for a five-day pause to reconvene with government officials and push for a higher minimum wage, exceeding the current N60,000 benchmark.
As this story went to press, our reporter noted that the national grid was still in the process of being fully revitalized, with some areas yet to be reconnected.