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Nigeria suffers national power outage as labor unions shut down grid

21 points by anigbrowl 2y ago

Always42 2y ago
Hope your not using a med device that needs electricity
- User23 2y ago
  If you are you should already have a generator. Rolling blackouts are normal service there[1]. Their grid is something like 8x oversubscribed. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Nigeria https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Nigeri...
- skyyler 2y ago
  “Since we undertook the nationwide protest against the recent hike in electricity tariffs, no government official has called us for discussion,” the TUC president, Festus Osifo, was quoted as saying on Friday. “Even the minister of power has not thought it fit to invite us for discussion.” Seems like if people on medical devices die from this it won't be squarely the fault of labour.
- ben_w 2y ago
  > A minimum wage of N30,000 (£15) a month, agreed in 2019, expired this April. The unions are asking for an increase to N494,000 (£257). And a different source: """Unions are demanding a huge increase in the minimum wage, saying workers cannot survive on the current rate of 30,000 naira (£18; $22) a month. The government is offering to double this but security guard Mallam Magaji Garba tells the BBC that this would not even be enough to buy a 50kg bag of rice, which he needs to feed his family each month. The bag of rice costs 75,000 naira ($56; £44) - more than the government's proposal, even before taking other expenses into account.""" - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6ppwz87vgqo https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6ppwz87vgqo 50 kg per month is 1.6 kg per day; rice is about 3500 kcal per kg, so 1.6 kg/day would just about feed 2 adults and 1 kid. This government had picked a number so low that nobody could accept it even if they adored and worshipped them.
deleted 2y ago
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jaredonline 2y ago
Wouldn't it be something if the title of this article was: Nigeria suffers national power outage as gov't refuses to negotiate with labor unions on minimum wage
watersb 2y ago
Given that The Guardian is a UK newspaper, I surprised by no mention of the strikes in the UK from 1972 to 1974. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_United_Kingdom_miners%27_strike https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_United_Kingdom_miners%2... The reduction in electricity generation brought on from the strikes of coal miners prompted the Prime Minister to impose a three-day work week. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Day_Week https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Day_Week The disastrous consequences to the economy brought down the government, and began the era of Margaret Thatcher. In another fifty years, whose turn will it be to suffer such instability?

21 points by anigbrowl 2y ago

Always42 2y ago

Hope your not using a med device that needs electricity

User23 2y ago
If you are you should already have a generator. Rolling blackouts are normal service there[1]. Their grid is something like 8x oversubscribed. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Nigeria https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Nigeri...
skyyler 2y ago
“Since we undertook the nationwide protest against the recent hike in electricity tariffs, no government official has called us for discussion,” the TUC president, Festus Osifo, was quoted as saying on Friday. “Even the minister of power has not thought it fit to invite us for discussion.” Seems like if people on medical devices die from this it won't be squarely the fault of labour.
ben_w 2y ago
> A minimum wage of N30,000 (£15) a month, agreed in 2019, expired this April. The unions are asking for an increase to N494,000 (£257). And a different source: """Unions are demanding a huge increase in the minimum wage, saying workers cannot survive on the current rate of 30,000 naira (£18; $22) a month. The government is offering to double this but security guard Mallam Magaji Garba tells the BBC that this would not even be enough to buy a 50kg bag of rice, which he needs to feed his family each month. The bag of rice costs 75,000 naira ($56; £44) - more than the government's proposal, even before taking other expenses into account.""" - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6ppwz87vgqo https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6ppwz87vgqo 50 kg per month is 1.6 kg per day; rice is about 3500 kcal per kg, so 1.6 kg/day would just about feed 2 adults and 1 kid. This government had picked a number so low that nobody could accept it even if they adored and worshipped them.

deleted 2y ago

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jaredonline 2y ago

Wouldn't it be something if the title of this article was: Nigeria suffers national power outage as gov't refuses to negotiate with labor unions on minimum wage

watersb 2y ago

Given that The Guardian is a UK newspaper, I surprised by no mention of the strikes in the UK from 1972 to 1974. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_United_Kingdom_miners%27_strike https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_United_Kingdom_miners%2... The reduction in electricity generation brought on from the strikes of coal miners prompted the Prime Minister to impose a three-day work week. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Day_Week https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Day_Week The disastrous consequences to the economy brought down the government, and began the era of Margaret Thatcher. In another fifty years, whose turn will it be to suffer such instability?