Nigeria's main labour unions have shut down the country's national grid to begin an indefinite strike over failure by the government to agree a new minimum wage, the Transmission Company of Nigeria said on Monday.

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) – two of the country's biggest unions – said on May 1 that they would down tools if a new minimum wage was not agreed by the end of the month.

They declared an indefinite strike on Friday after wage talks collapsed and said the strike would last until a new minimum wage was in place.

Last month, an umbrella of Nigeria's labour unions rejected the government's proposal to set the minimum wage at 54,000 naira ($38).

'Nothing less than $70'

The government had proposed a minimum wage of 48,000 naira ($34), which was rejected by the unions.

The labour unions say they will not take any amount less than 100,000 naira ($70) as minimum wage.

Currently, Nigeria's minimum wage is 30,000 naira ($21).

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