The Trade Union Congress has rejected another wage award. The union is demanding a sustainable salary increase. It said the government failed to fully implement the 2023 wage award agreement. The TUC Secretary-General, Nuhu Toro, issued a communiqué after an emergency National Administrative Council meeting. The statement was released on Thursday in Abuja.
The 2023 wage award agreement was signed on 2 October 2023. It provided for a palliative to run until the new minimum wage became law on 29 July 2024. That was a 10-month period. Workers received an average of only three months. The NLC accepted a ₦70,000 monthly transport allowance in October 2026. The TUC rejected it. The two centres are divided. The split weakens labour’s leverage.
Toro said the Congress is committed to protecting workers’ interests. He said the demand for a salary increase followed the government’s failure to honour the 2023 agreement. “The Congress is demanding a salary increase and not another wage award,” he said. The position was first communicated in an October 21 press release.
Toro said the national minimum wage is a statutory floor. It should not be treated as a ceiling. He acknowledged the positions of the Congress’s public-sector affiliates. These include SSAUTHRAI, NUAHP and SSASCGOC. He said workers’ welfare cannot be advanced by disregarding collective bargaining rights. He cited ILO Conventions 87 and 98. He reaffirmed the TUC’s mandate to represent and negotiate for its members.
He said the Congress would continue constructive engagement with government. It would implement resolutions from the 8 October 2026 meeting in Abuja. He called for the removal of barriers facing federal and state employees. He urged TUC leaders to focus on securing improved salaries through stakeholder engagement, not public exchanges. “Workers’ welfare remained non-negotiable,” he said. He warned against “unsustainable interventions.”
The government has not responded. The NLC has not commented on the TUC’s position. The wage award dispute continues.
Winners: The TUC, which asserts independence. Workers, if a salary increase follows. Losers: The Federal Government, whose offer was rejected. Workers, who remain in limbo. The NLC, whose strategy faces competition. The labour movement, which loses unity. Taxpayers, if a larger settlement follows.
Bottom Line: The TUC wants a salary increase. The government offered a wage award. The 2023 agreement was only partially paid. The trust is gone. The demand is clear. The government must respond.