The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has renewed its demand for a new national minimum wage, an immediate reduction in petrol prices and a nationwide wage award for workers, warning that rising living costs have severely eroded the purchasing power of Nigerian workers.

The demands were contained in the NLC’s Independence Day statement signed by its President, Joe Ajaero, as Nigeria marked its 66th Independence anniversary. The labour centre said urgent intervention was needed to address what it described as worsening economic hardship. 

The NLC called for the immediate commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage to take effect in 2027, arguing that the current ₦70,000 wage has already lost substantial purchasing power to inflation.

It specifically demanded the immediate establishment of a tripartite committee involving government, labour and employers to negotiate and formulate the new wage standard before the end of 2026.

The labour union also demanded an immediate nationwide wage award for workers at the federal, state and local government levels.

According to the NLC, the wage award should be treated as an emergency intervention to cushion workers against declining real incomes rather than as a form of charity. 

A major component of the demands is a reduction in the price of petrol, which labour said has become a major driver of rising transportation costs and the prices of essential goods and services.

The NLC wants the Federal Government to take urgent measures to bring down petrol prices, noting that petrol was selling for about ₦1,430 per litre or higher in major cities, with prices increasing further in some remote locations. 

The labour centre argued that high fuel prices have a multiplier effect across the economy, particularly through transportation, food, housing, education and other household expenses.

“Without cutting this chain, any effort to ease the suffering of the people is futile,” the NLC said in its statement. 

The union further demanded the implementation of tax relief measures previously agreed upon with the Federal Government during labour-government negotiations.

It also called for a reduction in the cost of governance, insisting that government should demonstrate greater commitment to fiscal responsibility while workers and ordinary Nigerians contend with increased living costs. 

The latest demands come after public-sector unions under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council issued a warning that they could commence a three-day nationwide warning strike from October 2 if the Federal Government failed to address their concerns.

The council had demanded that petrol prices be reduced to ₦500 per litre, that a wage award be announced and that negotiations for a new minimum wage expected in 2027 should begin without further delay. 

The council comprises several public-sector unions, including the Nigeria Civil Service Union, Medical and Health Workers Union, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives. 

The NLC’s renewed position therefore comes against a backdrop of increasing pressure from organised labour for measures capable of restoring workers’ purchasing power and cushioning the effect of higher transportation and living costs.

The labour centre also urged the government to strengthen investment in roads, healthcare, education and other public infrastructure, arguing that improvements in these areas would help reduce the economic burden on households.

The NLC further called for greater employment opportunities for young Nigerians, warning that prolonged unemployment, poverty and declining purchasing power could deepen social and economic pressures.

The Federal Government is yet to announce acceptance of the full package of demands contained in the NLC’s Independence Day statement.

With the current minimum wage review scheduled to become due in 2027, the demand for an early tripartite negotiation process is likely to place wages, petrol prices and workers’ welfare at the centre of government-labour discussions in the months ahead.