The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has disclosed that many Nigerian workers never benefited from the 2023 wage award, warning that the failure to implement the agreement across states and parts of the public service must inform negotiations for a new national minimum wage.
The TUC President, Comrade Festus Osifo, spoke at the 3rd annual Labour Conference of the Labour Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria (LACAN) on Thursday in Abuja, where the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) separately called for a living wage and challenged journalists to hold political leaders accountable for their economic policies ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Represented by the President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Bosun Agoro,
Osifo also urged the media to focus on workers’ worsening welfare rather than disagreements between the two major labour centres over how to secure better remuneration.
According to him, the wage award negotiated in 2023 had failed to reach many of its intended beneficiaries, raising concerns about the implementation of future agreements between organised labour and the Federal Government.
He said: “The wage award that we entered into in 2023, many workers did not get anything out of it today. Many states did not put it into implementation. Even the Federal Government that implemented it didn’t pay according to what we agreed.”
Osifo explained that the TUC’s position on the current wage debate was shaped by the experience, arguing that labour needed to adopt a different approach to ensure that agreed benefits reached workers through their salaries.
“We felt that if we continue to do things the same way, we are most likely going to be getting the same result.”
He, however, stressed that differences between the NLC and TUC over the approach to wage implementation should not distract attention from the central issue of workers’ welfare.
“It is agreed by all parties today, whether NLC, TUC, or even the government, that the state of workers in Nigeria is deplorable, that workers’ remuneration, workers’ entitlement is almost at ground zero. That one is not bringing any form of disagreement.”
According to him, the disagreement concerns how to address the problem rather than whether Nigerian workers deserve better pay.
“The only little thing that is causing (disagreement) is how we now rectify that error,” he added, urging journalists to avoid magnifying differences within organised labour at the expense of the wage question.
The TUC a President also cautioned the Federal Government against exploiting disagreements between the NLC and TUC, insisting that both centres must strengthen their unity before engaging employers and government on workers’ demands.
He cited a recent TUC statement that was interpreted by some commentators as a demand for a N300,000 minimum wage, saying the omission of the words “for example” had altered the meaning of the statement.
Osifo called on journalists to provide accurate context when reporting labour negotiations, warning that misleading interpretations could distort public understanding of the positions taken by unions.
On the wider economic situation, he urged the government to ensure that increased revenue from rising crude oil prices translated into improved living conditions for Nigerians rather than benefits accruing to a few.
He said workers were bearing the consequences of rising fuel prices through higher transportation costs, which had further increased the cost of living.
The NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, reinforced the call for a living wage, describing the struggle for better pay as inseparable from the broader fight for workers’ rights and social protection.
“The battle for a living wage, not just a minimum wage, is a class struggle, and it requires a media that is armed with the truth, not compromised by the corridors of power,” the Congress said.
It urged LACAN to scrutinise the economic programmes of political parties ahead of the 2027 elections and demand clear commitments on wages, job security, pensions and collective bargaining.
The Congress also cautioned against attempts to create divisions within organised labour over recent resolutions reached with the Federal Government.
“There is no crisis where there is none,” the NLC said, urging labour correspondents to clarify industrial relations processes rather than amplify propaganda.
Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, said the state had implemented the national minimum wage at N71,000 following negotiations with labour representatives, adding that it had addressed outstanding issues affecting some categories of workers.
Represented by the Kano State Chairman, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, Mohammed Mai- Karfi, he cited regular salary payments, the release of promotion arrears, death benefits and pensions, as well as the recruitment of more than 2,000 health workers, as part of its efforts to cushion the effects of economic reforms.