Trade unions in Nigeria have begun a planned three-day nationwide strike over a salary dispute with the government.
The two unions want the government to raise the monthly minimum wage to $120, a significant increase over the current $50 minimum salary.
Witnesses say many state and government workers in Nigeria's largest city, Lagos, and Abuja, the capital, are not on the job.
The Nigeria Labor Congress and the Trade Union Congress decided to go ahead with the strike despite an emergency meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan Tuesday evening.
But the union leaders plan to meet later Wednesday to discuss their next course of action.
The two labor federations represent workers in most sectors of Nigeria's economy.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
