Nigeria’s public sector workers have suspended a planned strike over pay to enable further negotiations with the government on their demands, union officials said Tuesday.
“The five-day strike due to start today has been suspended for two weeks to allow for further negotiations,” Olakunle Olaiya, the union representative on the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council mediation service, told reporters.
The workers had called the five-day strike to force the government to agree to a 75 percent pay rise, as against the 10 percent it has offered.
Addressing a rally by workers on May Day, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan urged them to suspend their action as he promised to improve their welfare.
“I have directed the minister of labour and productivity and the head of the civil service of the federation to conclude all negotiations pertaining to the salaries of workers within the next three months,” Jonathan said.
Strikes are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with 150 million people.
Despite being the world’s eighth largest oil producer, the majority of Nigeria’s population lives on less than one dollar a day.