By - JNPSNC formally declares a three-day warning strike running from midnight October 2 through October 4, following through on its earlier ultimatum
- Circular signed by National Secretary Olowoyo Gbenga cites the Federal Government’s failure to act on demands first submitted in a September 21 letter to President Tinubu
- Council calls on all public servants across federal, state and local governments to join, describing current economic conditions as “unbearable and frustrating”
The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council has confirmed its three-day warning strike will go ahead as planned, directing its national and state leadership to begin mobilising workers nationwide for industrial action starting at midnight on Friday.
A circular dated October 1 and signed by JNPSNC National Secretary Olowoyo Gbenga set the strike’s window from midnight on October 2 through Sunday, October 4. The council said the decision followed the Federal Government’s failure to respond to demands it first raised in a letter sent to President Bola Tinubu on September 21, a deadline that passed earlier this week without the government publicly addressing the council’s requests.
A Call for Nationwide Participation
The circular explicitly extended the call to action beyond the council’s own member unions, urging all public servants across federal, state and local government services to join the walkout. Framing the action in solidarity terms, the council argued that hardship affecting one group of workers was effectively shared by all, pointing to what it described as the deepening strain on workers, their dependants and other vulnerable Nigerians under current economic conditions.
The council described the economic and mental toll on workers as having become unbearable and frustrating, and pressed its leadership structures to begin mobilisation immediately rather than wait closer to the strike date.
The Demands Behind the Walkout
The strike follows through on grievances the council has pressed since its original letter to Tinubu, chief among them a reduction in petrol prices to N500 per litre, an immediate wage award for workers, and the establishment of a tripartite committee to begin negotiating a new national minimum wage ahead of 2027. Those demands reflect growing concern among public servants over the declining purchasing power of their wages amid rising costs for food, transportation and other household essentials.
The council had previously named President Tinubu’s Independence Day address, delivered Thursday morning, as the moment it expected the government to respond to these specific demands. That address touched broadly on bringing down the cost of living and expanding economic opportunity, but stopped short of committing to a specific petrol price, a wage award, or a timeline for minimum wage talks, leaving the council’s original demands unaddressed heading into the strike window.
With the circular now circulated and mobilisation underway, the council expressed confidence that the action would achieve its intended effect, closing its notice with an appeal for widespread participation across the public service.
