The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has denied negotiating the N40,000 consequential adjustment granted to federal government workers following the implementation of the 2024 national minimum wage.<\/p>\n
In a press release dated November 8, 2026, and signed by its Acting General Secretary, Comrade Benson Upah, the NLC described claims attributing the N40,000 adjustment to its leadership as false and a distortion of Nigeria\u2019s collective bargaining framework.<\/p>\n
The labour union said the responsibility for negotiating consequential adjustments rests with sector-specific unions and negotiating councils, not the NLC.<\/p>\n
The union said the clarification was necessary to address what it described as misinformation surrounding the 2024 minimum wage negotiations and the subsequent consequential adjustment process.<\/p>\n
According to the NLC, the national minimum wage is determined through a tripartite negotiation involving organised labour, government and employers\u2019 representatives.<\/p>\n
It explained that its mandate at this stage is to negotiate the national minimum wage, which serves as the basic wage floor below which no worker should be paid.<\/p>\n
However, once a new minimum wage is agreed upon, negotiations on consequential adjustments are handled by the respective unions and negotiating bodies across different sectors.<\/p>\n
The labour congress maintained that although it represents workers across both the public and private sectors, it does not negotiate consequential adjustments for individual sectors.<\/p>\n
In the public sector, the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), comprising government representatives and about eight trade unions, negotiates with the Federal Government on implementation and consequential adjustments. Its state-level counterparts perform similar functions in negotiations with state governments.<\/p>\n
For the private sector, industrial unions negotiate individually with employers\u2019 associations based on the structure and conditions of their respective industries.<\/p>\n
The clarification comes as Nigeria approaches another round of national minimum wage negotiations, which the NLC said presents an important opportunity to secure improved earnings for workers.<\/p>\n
The union warned that attempts to shift responsibility for previous consequential adjustments could create confusion and division within the labour movement ahead of the forthcoming negotiations.<\/p>\n
It said it would work to ensure that the outcome of the new minimum wage exercise serves the interests of Nigerian workers and the wider population while approximating a living wage.<\/p>\n
The debate over the N40,000 consequential adjustment comes amid broader developments in Nigeria\u2019s minimum wage implementation and renewed demands for improved workers\u2019 earnings.<\/p>\n
Nairametrics earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu signed the N70,000 national minimum wage into law on July 29, 2024<\/a>, raising the previous benchmark of N30,000 and reducing the minimum wage review cycle from five years to three years.<\/p>\n In May 2026, Nairametrics published a review of minimum wages across Nigerian states, showing that several states had approved wages above the N70,000 federal benchmark, with Imo leading at N104,000<\/a>. The review also highlighted differences in the pace and extent of implementation across states.<\/p>\n