Workers begin three-day warning strike

Public service workers across Nigeria have commenced a three-day warning strike over worsening economic hardship and demands for improved welfare.

The industrial action, declared by the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, began at midnight on Friday, October 2, and is scheduled to end on Sunday, October 4, 2026.

The council directed workers in federal, state and local government services to participate in the strike, following what it described as the Federal Government’s failure to address concerns raised in a September 21 letter to President Bola Tinubu.

Among the workers’ demands are a reduction in petrol prices, payment of a wage award and the commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage ahead of 2027.

The council said the economic hardship was placing increasing pressure on workers, their dependants and vulnerable Nigerians.

It urged its affiliated unions to mobilise members nationwide and ensure compliance with the warning strike.

The action is expected to affect workers across ministries, departments and agencies at the federal, state and local government levels.