NLC Accuses Workers’ Opponents Of Creating Confusion Ahead Of New Minimum Wage Talks

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused individuals and groups it described as enemies of Nigerian workers of deliberately creating confusion and division within the labour movement ahead of negotiations for a new national minimum wage.

The Congress alleged that some opponents of the trade union movement were spreading false information and shifting blame over the 2024 minimum wage negotiations and the consequential salary adjustments that followed.

In a statement signed by its Acting General Secretary, Comrade Benson Upah, the NLC said the misinformation was aimed at misleading Nigerian workers and the general public as preparations begin for another national minimum wage negotiation.

The labour organisation said it considered it necessary to clarify the responsibilities of different stakeholders in the minimum wage negotiation process and correct what it described as deliberate attempts to distort the facts.

The NLC explained that the national minimum wage is determined through a tripartite negotiation involving organised labour, government representatives and employers.

According to the Congress, its primary responsibility during the process is to negotiate the minimum wage, which serves as the lowest amount any employer is legally permitted to pay a worker.

It described the national minimum wage as the foundation upon which other salary structures are developed.

However, the NLC explained that negotiations over consequential adjustments, which involve reviewing existing salary structures to reflect the new minimum wage, are handled separately by unions and employers within their respective sectors.

The Congress said this arrangement is a fundamental principle of collective bargaining in Nigeria.

It further explained that in the public sector, the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), made up of government representatives and about eight trade unions, is responsible for negotiating the implementation of the new minimum wage and related salary adjustments with the Federal Government.

At the state level, similar negotiations are conducted between the respective labour unions and state governments.

In the private sector, the NLC said individual industrial unions negotiate with employers’ associations based on the peculiarities of their industries.

For instance, the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) negotiates with the National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) on how minimum wage adjustments should be implemented in the sector.

The Congress stressed that although it represents workers across both the public and private sectors, it does not directly negotiate consequential salary adjustments for individual sectors.

It maintained that the leadership of the unions operating in those sectors is responsible for negotiating and determining the outcomes of such adjustments.

Consequently, the NLC dismissed claims that it negotiated the N40,000 across-the-board salary increase approved for federal workers following the 2024 minimum wage exercise.

According to the Congress, the responsibility for negotiating the N40,000 adjustment rested solely with the leadership of the public sector unions.

It warned against attempts to hold the NLC responsible for decisions taken by other negotiating bodies, describing such claims as misleading and a distortion of Nigeria’s collective bargaining framework.

The labour organisation also noted that the existing system of collective bargaining is backed by law and has been sustained by decades of established practices and traditions.

It added that throughout the history of minimum wage negotiations in Nigeria, the NLC leadership had never directly negotiated consequential adjustments with either the Federal Government or organised private sector employers.

Instead, such responsibilities had consistently been handled by the JPSNC in the public sector and the various Joint Industrial Negotiating Councils in the private sector.

Reaffirming its commitment to Nigerian workers, the Congress said it would not allow the labour movement to be misrepresented by individuals or groups it accused of promoting the interests of capital at the expense of workers.

The NLC further described the forthcoming minimum wage negotiation as an important moment for Nigerian workers and the general public, urging stakeholders to hold the appropriate institutions accountable for their responsibilities.

It assured workers that it would work towards securing a new minimum wage that reflects the economic realities facing Nigerians and comes as close as possible to providing a living wage.

The Congress also promised to introduce appropriate measures to ensure that subsequent consequential adjustment negotiations are handled by the relevant institutions in ways that improve workers’ welfare.