TUC rejects new wage award and demands permanent salary increase

The TUC has rejected a new temporary wage award, saying it will not solve workers’ financial problems. In a communiqué signed by Secretary-General Nuhu Toro, the union demanded a sustainable salary increase that would improve living standards and purchasing power.

Toro explained that the latest award would only offer short-term relief, while the Federal Government has not fully implemented the 2023 wage award agreement. The original agreement, signed on 2 October 2023, was meant to act as a palliative until the new national minimum wage became law on 29 July 2024, but workers received only three of the ten months promised.

The TUC stressed that the national minimum wage should be a statutory floor, not a ceiling that limits further negotiations. It aligned its stance with public-sector affiliates such as the SSAUTHRAI, the NUAHP and the SSASCGOC.

Citing ILO Conventions 87 and 98, Toro reaffirmed the union’s right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The TUC said it remains committed to constructive engagement with the government to implement resolutions from its meeting on 8 October 2026 in Abuja.

The demand follows an 8 October 2026 letter to the Federal Government, submitted through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, calling for urgent measures to ease economic hardship. Earlier in October, the NLC gave the government a two-week ultimatum on petrol prices, minimum wage renegotiations and outstanding workers’ demands, including the February 2026 settlement with the JOHESU.

Beyond salary issues, the TUC called for timely payment of salaries and pensions, protection of existing jobs, action against exploitative labour practices and steps to reduce the cost of essential goods and services. It noted that the hardship affects federal, state and local government employees, pensioners, private-sector workers and those in the informal economy.