The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for a minimum wage framework tied to inflation and the cost of living, saying the next review must protect workers’ purchasing power.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the 2027 wage negotiations should consider the rising costs of housing, transportation, food and other essential services rather than focus on arbitrary figures.
Ajaero spoke at the 2026 conference of the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria in Lagos, where he said previous wage reviews had failed to adequately shield workers from the effects of rising prices.
He said organised labour would not simply demand a specific amount, such as N500,000 or N1m, without assessing the economic conditions determining workers’ needs.
“If inflation moves by a particular percentage, then you adjust wages accordingly. Or we look at how much the cost of living is, how much house rent is, how much transportation costs, and factor these into the calculation,” he said.
The NLC president said preparations for the next review should be guided by April 2027, insisting that the three-year review cycle introduced by the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act must be respected.
The Act raised the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 and reduced the review period from five years to three years.
Ajaero warned against delaying negotiations and using the eventual signing date to shift the commencement of the review cycle.
He also said temporary relief measures, including the Federal Government’s proposed N70,000 monthly transport allowance for six months, could not provide a sustainable solution to workers’ economic challenges.
The labour leader criticised the limited impact of government interventions on compressed natural gas transportation, saying the distribution of CNG buses had not adequately addressed workers’ transport costs.
He called for broader economic measures to tackle inflation, transportation expenses and the declining purchasing power of the naira, noting that wage increases alone would not resolve the hardship facing households.
Meanwhile, Trade Union Congress President, Festus Osifo, has warned workers against selling their votes ahead of the 2027 elections.
Osifo, represented by PENGASSAN President, Bosun Olabiyi-Agoro, urged workers to make informed political choices and prioritise their collective interests.
He warned that workers should not compromise their votes and subsequently expect labour leaders to challenge governments they helped elect.
Olabiyi-Agoro also called for reconciliation between the NLC and TUC, proposing a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation between the two labour centres.
He said their disagreements should not undermine the collective interests of Nigerian workers, urging both organisations to harmonise their positions before engaging the Federal Government.
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