{"id":22007,"date":"2024-02-27T09:31:20","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T14:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/nigerias-government-and-union-workers-launch-a-new-nationwide-strike-over-decades-high-inflation\/27\/02\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-02-27T09:31:20","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T14:31:20","slug":"nigerias-government-and-union-workers-launch-a-new-nationwide-strike-over-decades-high-inflation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/nigerias-government-and-union-workers-launch-a-new-nationwide-strike-over-decades-high-inflation\/27\/02\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria’s government and union workers launch a new nationwide strike over decades-high inflation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) \u2014 Nigeria’s government and union workers began a new nationwide strike Tuesday that threatened to shut down key services while people are angry about soaring inflation and growing economic pain.<\/p>\n

Since assuming office in Africa’s most populous country last year, President Bola Tinubu<\/a><\/span><\/span> has enacted policies that include doing away with fuel subsidies and unifying the country\u2019s multiple exchange rates, leading to a devaluation of the naira against the dollar.<\/p>\n

Gasoline prices have more than doubled and inflation has shot up as a result, reaching close to 30% last month, the highest in nearly three decades, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hungry. There is nobody that doesn\u2019t know this,\u201d said Joe Ajaero, president of the the Nigerian Labor Congress.<\/p>\n

Others said the protest was the only way to get the government\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings are getting out of hand,\u201d said Christian Omeje, a shop owner in the capital, Abuja. \u201cPrices keep soaring, the aid the government said it would dole out has not been provided.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is just the latest strike action. In October, government labor unions reached a deal with the government to end strikes in return for monthly stipends and subsidies to cushion the blow of the new policies. Still, the unrest continued.<\/p>\n

Unions say the government has failed to deliver on promises that included a monthly wage increase of approximately $20 for all workers for six months and payments of approximately $15 for three months to millions of vulnerable households.<\/p>\n

A pledge to roll out gas-powered buses for mass transit last year also failed to materialize.<\/p>\n

Most services appeared to continue Tuesday with a reduced workforce.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s government and union workers began a new nationwide strike Tuesday that threatened to shut down key services