NLC Breaks Silence On ₦40,000 Wage Adjustment, Denies Negotiating Deal For Federal Workers

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has denied negotiating the ₦40,000 consequential adjustment granted to federal workers following the implementation of the ₦70,000 national minimum wage.

The labour organisation maintained that the negotiations were handled by public sector unions through the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, which comprises government representatives and about eight trade unions.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the NLC made its position known in a statement issued on Sunday and signed by its Acting General Secretary, Comrade Benson Upah.

The Congress described reports attributing the ₦40,000 adjustment to its negotiations as false, accusing some individuals of deliberately misrepresenting Nigeria’s collective bargaining structure to mislead workers and create divisions within the labour movement.

The NLC explained that its responsibility during the 2024 national minimum wage negotiations was limited to determining the minimum wage, which establishes the lowest basic salary an employer can legally pay a worker.

It noted that consequential adjustments, which involve reviewing existing salary structures to reflect a newly approved minimum wage, are negotiated separately by unions within their respective sectors.

According to the Congress, the national minimum wage is determined through a tripartite process involving organised labour, the government and employers’ representatives. However, the responsibility for negotiating consequential adjustments rests with the leadership of the unions concerned.

The labour centre stated that the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, comprising government representatives and trade unions, handled discussions with the Federal Government on the implementation of the new minimum wage and its consequential adjustments.

It added that similar arrangements operate at the state level, where relevant negotiating councils engage state governments, while industrial unions negotiate with employers’ associations on behalf of workers in the private sector.

Using the food and beverage industry as an example, the NLC explained that the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers negotiated with the National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees on the application of the new minimum wage within the sector.

The Congress further clarified that although it represents workers across both the public and private sectors, this does not mean it directly negotiates consequential adjustments on behalf of individual unions.

Specifically addressing the ₦40,000 adjustment approved for federal workers, the NLC insisted that the outcome was negotiated by public sector union leaders and not its national leadership.

It maintained that attempts to hold the Congress responsible for the agreement amounted to a distortion of the established collective bargaining process in the country.

The NLC also accused unnamed individuals of attempting to shift responsibility for the outcome in a manner capable of creating confusion and weakening unity among workers, particularly as preparations begin for another round of national minimum wage negotiations.

The organisation stressed that its leadership had never negotiated consequential adjustments with either the Federal Government or organised private sector employers.

Looking ahead, the Congress pledged to push for a new national minimum wage that reflects prevailing economic conditions and moves closer to what it described as a living wage for Nigerian workers.

It urged workers and members of the public to hold the appropriate institutions accountable for their specific responsibilities in the wage negotiation process.

The NLC added that it would take necessary steps to ensure that future consequential adjustment negotiations are handled by the appropriate institutions and produce more favourable outcomes for workers.