Nigeria’s power grid shut down, airlines disrupted as unions strike
Al Jazeera
Nigeria loses electricity, airports close as unions demand more than 1,500% rise in minimum wage amid record inflation.
Nigeria’s main labour unions have shut down the national electrical grid and disrupted flights across the country as they began an indefinite strike over the government’s failure to agree a new minimum wage.
The strike is the fourth embarked upon by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), two of the country’s biggest union federations, since President Bola Tinubu took office last year.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said on Monday that union members drove operators away at power control rooms and shut down at least six substations, eventually shutting down the national grid at 2:19am (01:19 GMT).
Nigerian airline Ibom Air said it was suspending flights until further notice due to the strike while another, United Nigeria, said airports across the country had been shut down and striking workers had permitted none of its flights to operate.
Electricity and aviation unions said in a statement they had directed members to withdraw their services in compliance with the indefinite strike.
