The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has distanced its national leadership from negotiations that resulted in the N40,000 consequential wage adjustment granted to federal workers following the implementation of the 2024 national minimum wage.
The Congress insisted that the adjustment was negotiated by public sector unions and relevant negotiating councils, not its national leadership, warning against what it described as deliberate attempts to misrepresent its role and create divisions within the labour movement.
In a statement issued at the weekend and signed by its Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, the NLC explained that its responsibility was primarily to negotiate the national minimum wage through the tripartite arrangement involving organized labour, government and employers.
It maintained that consequential adjustments arising from the implementation of the new minimum wage were the responsibility of unions and negotiating bodies operating within the affected sectors.
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According to the Congress, the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), comprising government representatives and about eight trade unions, handled negotiations on the implementation of the new minimum wage and consequential adjustments for federal workers.
It added that similar negotiating structures were responsible for discussions with state governments, while industrial unions in the private sector negotiated directly with employers’ associations based on the peculiarities of their respective industries.
The NLC cited negotiations between the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers and the National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees as an example of how consequential adjustments were handled through sector-specific collective bargaining arrangements.
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The Congress stressed that although it represents workers across the public and private sectors, its national leadership had never directly negotiated consequential wage adjustments with either the Federal Government or organised private sector employers.
“Any person who attributes the outcome of consequential adjustments to the NLC is either naïve, plainly ignorant, or involved in propagating outright mischief to mislead Nigerian workers and the masses,” the statement said.
The labour body further explained that the responsibilities of the various negotiating institutions were clearly established under Nigeria’s collective bargaining framework, which has evolved through decades of statutory practice and industrial relations traditions.
It maintained that the JPSNC had historically handled consequential adjustments in the public sector, while Joint Negotiating Industrial Councils (JNICs) across different industries performed similar functions in the private sector.
The NLC expressed concern that attributing the N40,000 adjustment to its national leadership could mislead workers about the institutions responsible for the agreement and make it difficult to hold the appropriate negotiating bodies accountable.
It also alleged that the controversy was being deliberately encouraged to weaken the unity of organised labour ahead of another round of national minimum wage negotiations.
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“We believe that this moment demands clarity and deep consciousness. The enemies of the working class are attempting to sow confusion and division within our ranks by shifting blame and obscuring the true loci of responsibility as we begin the negotiation of a new national minimum wage,” it stated.
The Congress reaffirmed its commitment to defending Nigerian workers and resisting attempts to misrepresent the labour movement.
It urged workers to understand the distinction between negotiating a national minimum wage, which establishes the statutory minimum amount employers must pay, and consequential adjustments, which address the effects of the new wage structure on other categories of employees.
Turning its attention to the forthcoming minimum wage negotiations, the NLC called on workers to remain vigilant and demand accountability from the institutions responsible for representing their interests.
“The new national minimum wage is on the verge of being negotiated. This is a critical moment for Nigerian workers and the masses to take necessary steps to hold specific institutions accountable for their specific expectations,” the statement added.
The Congress said it would pursue a wage agreement that reflects prevailing economic realities and moves Nigerian workers closer to earning a living wage.
It also promised to put measures in place to ensure that future consequential adjustment exercises are handled creatively by the appropriate negotiating institutions for the benefit of workers across the country.
