Nigeria’s two largest labour federations have announced plans to reopen negotiations with the federal government over the national minimum wage, arguing that soaring living costs and persistent inflation have rendered the current pay structure inadequate for millions of workers.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) said they would formally seek talks with the government ahead of the scheduled 2026 review of the minimum wage, insisting that workers require a “genuine living wage” capable of reflecting the country’s worsening economic realities.
Speaking at the 114th International Labour Conference in Geneva on Monday, the unions warned that rising prices of food, transport, housing and healthcare had severely eroded workers’ purchasing power, leaving many households struggling to meet basic needs.
The labour groups also rejected any proposal to impose taxes on the minimum wage, arguing that additional fiscal burdens on low-income earners would deepen hardship and push more Nigerians into poverty.
Nigeria’s current minimum wage of ₦70,000 was signed into law in July 2024 following months of negotiations between organised labour and the administration of President Bola Tinubu. While the original agreement provided for reviews every three years, the government later revised the framework, shortening the review cycle to two years and bringing the next renegotiation forward to 2026.
Labour leaders said they intended to begin discussions months before the review deadline to avoid the prolonged delays that have characterised previous wage negotiations.
“The current Act expires early next year, and we have announced that renegotiation will commence by July 2026 to avoid the painful delays of the past,” the unions said in a joint statement.
“As soon as we leave here, we shall write again to the government demanding the commencement of the process for renegotiating the national minimum wage.”
The unions argued that official economic indicators often failed to capture the pressures faced by ordinary workers, many of whom have seen their incomes steadily diminished by inflation, currency depreciation and rising costs across essential services.
“We demand nothing less than a genuine living wage that reflects today’s harsh economic realities,” the statement said.
“We also demand immediate relief measures by governments at all levels until a new minimum wage is signed into law. We reject outright any attempt to tax the minimum wage or impose further burdens on the poor.”
The intervention signals the beginning of what could become one of the most significant labour disputes facing the government before the next election cycle, with unions warning that the focus must be on preserving real incomes rather than making nominal adjustments that fail to keep pace with inflation.
They urged federal and state authorities to introduce temporary relief measures while negotiations continue, warning that delays could fuel industrial unrest.
Beyond wages, labour leaders used the international gathering in Geneva to draw attention to broader concerns about insecurity, unemployment and poverty.
They said growing violence across parts of the country had made commuting increasingly dangerous for workers, with killings, kidnappings and displacement disrupting livelihoods and economic activity.
According to the unions, nearly 2,000 people were killed during the first quarter of the year, while millions have been displaced by insecurity. They warned that deteriorating conditions could force workers to stay away from workplaces for safety reasons, creating tensions that extend beyond traditional industrial disputes.
The labour movement also painted a bleak picture of living standards, claiming that around 65% of Nigerians — an estimated 150 million people — now live in multidimensional poverty as inflation, unemployment and declining purchasing power continue to take their toll.
While acknowledging that recent economic reforms were intended to stabilise public finances, union leaders argued that the benefits had yet to reach ordinary citizens.
Looking ahead to the 2027 general election, the NLC and TUC said they were developing a charter of demands that would guide their engagement with political parties and candidates.
The document is expected to focus on security, public services, wage reforms and labour rights, with the unions indicating that support would be reserved for political actors willing to commit to those priorities.
The labour groups also voiced concern over what they described as interference in union affairs by some state governments, accusing authorities of attempting to undermine democratically elected labour leadership structures.
They pledged to resist any effort to weaken the independence of organised labour, insisting that protecting workers’ rights remained central to their mandate.
As the 2026 wage review approaches, the unions said the central question remains whether the next round of negotiations will deliver a living wage capable of matching economic realities or leave workers facing a further decline in living standards.
