The buildings at the government secretariat located in the heart of the Abuja city were shut in compliance with the labor unions' directive.
Xinhua reporters found that the representatives of the labor unions had earlier gone round the city in groups to enforce the sit-at-home order given to workers.
At the gate of the finance ministry, a big flag of the Nigeria Labor Congress, the main labor union, was placed there to prove the presence of the unionists. Another flag was placed in front of the health ministry, too, to prevent government workers from going into the premises.
A security man at the foreign ministry told Xinhua that an order disallowing vehicles into the premises was earlier given by the labor union.
"We cannot allow any vehicle to go into the premises (of the foreign ministry). We have been told to turn back all vehicles," said the security man who didn't want his name mentioned.
"They (the labor unions) have their agents around here monitoring us," the man said.
In a statement, the National Union of Teachers also directed all its members to join the industrial action.
Apart from government offices, some private sector enterprises have also complied with the sit-at-home order.
Commercial banks in the nation's capital and across the country were among private sector businesses forced to shut down operations due to the industrial action.
At the Central Business District of Abuja, some workers at a commercial bank were seen to be locking their offices and getting set to go home after working for a few hours.
Many bank depositors were either told to leave the premises or disallowed to go in at all due to the presence of the unionists.
"We have just been told to close for the day and not come back until the strike has been called off," Joseph Osobu, a bank worker, told Xinhua.
In spite of the total shutdown proposed by the organized labor unions in the ongoing strike, however, normal activities continued at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, the capital airport in Abuja.
Normal flight operations were ongoing at both the arrival and departure sections of the airports when Xinhua visited the place.
Francis Akinjole, general secretary of the Air Transport Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, told Xinhua that the reason why the strike had yet to be enforced at the airports was that all aviation union leaders were out of their stations, attending a conference in a southern state.
"Aviation unions are strongly with the Nigeria Labor Congress on the strike even though we are not on ground to enforce it today (Thursday)," he said.
The national president and general secretary of the Nigeria Labor Congress did not immediately respond to Xinhua's phone calls and text messages.
Labor union leaders are asking the federal government to raise the national minimum wage from 18,000 naira (50.07 U.S. dollars) to 56,000 naira, citing the current economic realities, especially the high rate of inflation in the country.
The 18,000-naira minimum wage was approved when the naira was exchanging at 145 naira to the dollar, and it has been unchanged for over eight years.
The naira now stands at around 360 to the dollar on the parallel market.
The labor leaders had on Sept. 12 warned the government against foot-dragging on the new minimum wage, urging it to allow a tripartite committee on minimum wage to conclude its job to avoid action.
In the last minute move to halt the industrial action, the Nigerian government on Wednesday met with labor leaders who were part of the tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage to give them an update on the government's position.
The government team led by the minister of labor and employment and the leadership of the organized labor agreed to reconvene the meeting of the National Minimum Wage Committee on Oct. 4.
This is to give enough time for the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission to round off the assignment given to it, said Chris Ngige, the minister of labor and employment.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2017 approved the appointment of the 30-member tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee for the negotiation of a new minimum wage.
The committee is made up of representatives from the worker unions, employer organizations, and the central and state governments.
GNA
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS