The Minister of Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha says the ongoing strike by the labor unions will impoverish Nigerians.

She made this known in an interview on Monday, June 3.

Recall, organized labour led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) began their nationwide strike after they failed to agree with the federal government over minimum wage.

The action has affected various sectors including education, hospitality and health.

Reacting to the development, the Minister said, “We know what the issues are and we hope they will be resolved, but going to strike will take the matter to the extreme with a lot of negative implications to both our economy and the welfare of the citizens.

“If the strike continues, the citizens will suffer and they have started suffering.

“Our students who were supposed to be taking exams have been affected because they can’t find means of transportation to exams centres.

“There are people who can’t eat until they go to their places of work. Some people who work at the Secretariat live daily on what they get from the officers there.”

She lamented the effect of the strike on hospitals, stating that the National grid shutdown will continue to affect a lot of medical procedures.

She stressed that hospitals being inaccessible, and doctors not being able to perform their duties might lead to death of patients.

“On production side, we know that when activities are shut down, it will affect our economy. Businesses will definitely be affected. Social life has also been affected too”, she said.