Nigerian strike shuts power grid, disrupts airlines

Nigeria's main labour unions on Monday shut down the national 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 began after talks broke down between the government and the country's two biggest union federations, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), over increasing the minimum wage. It is the fourth since President Bola Tinubu took office last year. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said union members drove operators away at the country's power control rooms and shut down at least six substations, eventually shutting the national grid at 02:19 am (0119 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 on Monday they had directed members to withdraw their services in compliance with the indefinite strike.<br/>