Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared the current national minimum wage of N70,000 grossly inadequate, describing it as a "poverty wage" that can no longer sustain Nigerian workers amid spiralling inflation and the relentless rise in the cost of living. In a forceful address on Monday, July 27, 2026, NLC President Joe Ajaero instructed all affiliate unions and state councils to immediately prepare for a "serious battle" to secure a new living wage, warning that organised labour would not approach the upcoming negotiations from a position of weakness.
Ajaero gave the charge at the opening ceremony of the 2026 NLC Rain School, held at the Workers' Solidarity Centre in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The annual programme, which brought together labour leaders, political office holders, and gender activists under the theme "The Working Class and the Politics of 2027: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities," served as the platform for the union's most aggressive stance on wages since the N70,000 benchmark was signed into law in July 2024. "The battle for a living wage will soon begin in earnest," Ajaero declared. "We are preparing for the renegotiation of the national minimum wage. Let us be clear: the paltry sum that currently passes for a minimum wage is no longer sustainable. It is a poverty wage".
The labour leader stressed that relentless inflation, soaring food prices, high electricity tariffs, and elevated transportation costs have effectively stripped the N70,000 threshold of any meaningful value, making it impossible for average workers to meet basic household needs. "We must not approach the negotiating table with a begging bowl," Ajaero insisted. "We must go as a class that understands its power. We must demand a wage that truly approximates a living wage—a wage that enables every worker to feed, shelter, educate, and care for their family with dignity". He urged every affiliate and state council to remain alert, warning that "the struggle ahead would require unity" and that workers would not be "silenced by the tired rhetoric of austerity and economic hardship advanced by those who continue to live in obscene opulence".
The NLC's declaration comes just two years after the current minimum wage was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on July 29, 2024, following extensive negotiations between the federal government, organised labour, and the private sector. Even at the time of its adoption, labour leaders had warned that inflation could quickly erode the value of the new wage. Those warnings have now materialised, with the NLC arguing that the economic reality of 2026 has shifted the goalposts far beyond the 2024 settlement. During the May Day protests earlier in 2026, the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) jointly demanded a new minimum wage of N154,000, more than double the current benchmark, arguing that it better reflected the cost of feeding, housing, and transporting a family under present conditions. Some reports have also indicated that the NLC is proposing figures as high as N709,000, while the TUC has recommended N447,000.
Beyond wage demands, Ajaero used the occasion to condemn what he described as systematic violations of workers' rights in Nigeria. He noted that Nigeria had once again been listed among the ten worst countries in the world for workers' rights violations, describing it as "a stain on our collective conscience". "They attack our right to organise, to bargain collectively, and to strike. They criminalise our struggles and deploy the machinery of the state to suppress dissent," he said. The NLC president also criticised the Federal Government over the delay in transmitting the tripartite-reviewed Labour Bills to the National Assembly, describing the six-year delay as a deliberate strategy to preserve a status quo of impunity and exploitation. "Modern, progressive labour legislation is not a luxury—it is a necessity," Ajaero declared, calling on lawmakers, civil society organisations, and the media to support the passage of the bills.
The labour leader further linked workers' hardship to poor governance, illicit financial flows, and corruption, insisting that Nigeria possesses enough resources to improve citizens' living conditions if public funds are properly managed. "Nigeria is not broke. Our wealth is being warehoused in the bank accounts of the political class. The issue is not missing money but the absence of collective outrage," he said.
Representing Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning, Rita Essien, described the NLC Rain School as an important platform for strengthening labour leadership and promoting national development. Former NLC President Ayuba Wabba also urged organised labour to intensify political education among workers and build a credible political structure ahead of the 2027 elections. Wabba warned labour leaders against repeating past mistakes that weakened workers' political influence and praised the NLC leadership for sustaining educational programmes such as the Rain School. "Workers who are educated understand their rights and are better equipped to build strong unions capable of defending their interests," he said.
The NLC has also signalled that its campaign will extend beyond wages for serving workers. In a separate development, Ajaero announced that the union would launch a major national campaign to demand the introduction of a national minimum pension for retirees. "It is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service," he said. The labour leader described it as "a historical injustice that men and women who devoted their youth, strength and productive years to the service of this nation should be condemned to live below the poverty line after retirement".
As the NLC prepares for what it describes as an inevitable confrontation, the Federal Government has yet to issue an official response to Monday's declaration. However, with the current National Minimum Wage Act set to expire in early 2027, negotiations are expected to formally commence in the coming weeks. The NLC and TUC are currently working on a joint proposal, with both labour centres harmonising their positions before presenting a common demand to the government. Employers have indicated they are ready for negotiations but have warned they will not accept what they describe as "outrageous wage demands". Ajaero, however, dismissed such concerns, stating that he would not sympathise with employers "looking for what amounts to slave wages".
The renewed call by the NLC signals that organised labour is preparing for another major confrontation over workers' welfare, with negotiations on a new national minimum wage expected to dominate discussions between labour unions and the Federal Government in the coming months. The union's message to its affiliates and workers across Nigeria is unambiguous: the struggle for a living wage has begun, and it will be fought with the full weight of the labour movement.
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