NLC denies negotiating ₦40,000 pay rise for federal workers, says public-sector unions did it alone
Photo: NLC President Joe Ajaero · Source: Nairametrics (Oct 2026 file photo)
The Nigeria Labour Congress says it did not negotiate the ₦40,000 consequential adjustment for federal workers, blaming a deliberate distortion of the collective bargaining framework.
Key points
- “The ₦40,000 outcome was the sole responsibility of the leadership of the unions in the public sector,” the statement said.
- The Nigeria Labour Congress has publicly denied negotiating the ₦40,000 consequential adjustment granted to federal workers after the ₦70,000 national minimum wage (2024).
- Separately, the NLC directed workers in Osun State to begin a three-day sympathy strike from midnight Sunday over statutory allocations due to local government areas.
The Nigeria Labour Congress has publicly denied negotiating the ₦40,000 consequential adjustment granted to federal workers after the ₦70,000 national minimum wage (2024).
In a press release dated Sunday 8 Nov and signed by Acting General Secretary Benson Upah, the NLC said claims attributing the ₦40,000 across-the-board addition to its leadership were false and “a deliberate distortion of Nigeria’s collective bargaining framework”.
“The ₦40,000 outcome was the sole responsibility of the leadership of the unions in the public sector,” the statement said. The NLC said its mandate was limited to negotiating the national minimum wage itself through the tripartite arrangement; consequential adjustments are negotiated separately by sector unions — for federal workers, the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), comprising government representatives and about eight trade unions.
Separately, the NLC directed workers in Osun State to begin a three-day sympathy strike from midnight Sunday over statutory allocations due to local government areas.
Why this matters
The NLC says the ₦40,000 outcome was the public-sector unions' doing alone — not a deal it negotiated.
Latest developments
First published 9 Nov 2026, 16:23 WAT.
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Sources
- Nairametrics — NLC denies negotiating N40,000 consequential adjustment for federal workers
- Punch — NLC denies negotiating N40,000 salary adjustment
- Vanguard — Controversy: We didn’t negotiate N40,000 pay adjustment for federal workers — NLC
NewsFlux summarised this story from the sources above; the wording is our own.