The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have suspended their picketing at the country’s busiest airport, Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, allowing passengers to board their flights.
According to an aviation reporter, Ayomide Ajeigbe, the labour unions had a change of heart overnight, deciding not to shut down the airport as previously planned.
Passengers were seen excitedly calling their loved ones to share the news that flights were operational.
Meanwhile, at the domestic wing of the airport, the gates remain locked by labour unions, leaving passengers stranded once again. According to reports, Air Transport Union Executives are holding off on reopening the airport to passengers until negotiations between Labour and the Federal Government have concluded.
The labour unions had earlier shut down all entry points of aviation agencies at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, demanding the implementation of a new National Minimum Wage.
The strike, which was announced on Friday, was called in response to the Federal Government’s refusal to increase the proposed minimum wage from N60,000.
However, following a meeting between government officials and labour leaders on Monday evening in Abuja, the federal government agreed to pay a higher national minimum wage than its initial proposal.
The meeting resolved that the President would establish a national minimum wage higher than N60,000, and the Tripartite Committee would convene daily to finalize an agreeable national minimum wage.
