Nigerian unions beat back gov't attack

Nigeria’s workers responded with a four-day general strike that grew stronger and stronger until the government finally backed down on June 24. The VAT will stay at its current level and the price hike for fuel will be cut in half.

The Nigerian federal government also gave its employees a 15-percent pay raise, retroactive to Jan. 1.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had jointly called the action.

Two days into the strike, one of the oil workers’ unions, PENGASAN, called its workers off their jobs at the oil-export terminal. A strike there would have greatly cut the main source of government revenue. Workers at the Kainji and Shiroro dams decided to join the strike, which meant that Nigeria would have quickly lost most of its hydroelectric power. Also, picket lines kept fuel from reaching diesel generators.

The NLC and TUC apologized to those who may have suffered “momentary loss of income,” but added, “We must remain strengthened in our conviction that we need this kind of collective action and solidarity to end bad governance.”

According to the daily newspaper, This Day, the unions noted that good governance cannot evolve if the citizens do not impose control over leaders through strikes and protests.

The union coalitions also hailed Nigerians from all backgrounds for their support and participation and the sacrifice and understanding they showed over the four days of the strike.

The unions involved called the agreement with the government a victory for the workers they represent.

Britain is Nigeria’s former colonial ruler and still has major economic stakes in the country, raking off a goodly part of its oil revenue. British imperialism played a major role in creating the economic and political structures of Nigeria, which still operate to London’s benefit and the benefit of other imperialists who control parts of Nigeria’s economy.

Conducting a successful, widespread general strike is a major step forward for the Nigerian working class.