NLC Says It Did Not Negotiate ₦40,000 Federal Pay Adjustment
The Nigeria Labour Congress has denied that its national leadership negotiated the ₦40,000 consequential salary adjustment awarded to federal workers after the 2024 minimum-wage agreement.
In a statement signed by Acting General Secretary Benson Upah, the labour centre said its responsibility was to negotiate the national minimum wage through the tripartite process involving labour, government and employers.
Adjustments to existing salary structures after a new wage floor is agreed are negotiated separately by unions representing workers in particular sectors, the NLC said.
What consequential adjustment means
A national minimum wage establishes the lowest lawful wage. A consequential adjustment changes the salaries of workers who were already earning above that minimum so that differences between grades and responsibilities are not erased.
For federal public workers, those negotiations are handled through public-sector unions and the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council. Similar structures operate at state level, while unions in private industries negotiate with relevant employers or employer associations.
The NLC therefore said responsibility for the ₦40,000 outcome rested with the unions involved in the public-service negotiation, not with the congress’s national leadership.
Next minimum-wage discussion
The current ₦70,000 national minimum wage was approved in 2024. The NLC argues that preparations for the next review should begin in line with the statutory review cycle and has said it will seek a wage closer to workers’ living costs.
The union’s latest statement is a clarification of bargaining responsibility. It does not itself replace an existing salary table, announce a new wage or guarantee the result of future negotiations.
Workers should verify their applicable pay structure and any adjustment through their recognised union, employer and official government circulars.
Sources: Punch report carrying the NLC statement; Vanguard report quoting the statement; Guardian labour report.
Featured image: illustrative workers’ meeting photograph by Matthew Larsen/Unsplash. It was taken outside Nigeria and does not depict the NLC.
