The Nigeria Labour Congress has backed demands by civil servants for a new minimum wage of N500,000 and a reduction of petrol price to N500 per litre.
The demands were made by civil servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC, Trade Union Side, in a letter to President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, signed by National Secretary Olowoyo Gbenga.
The workers said petrol prices have risen to N1,430 per litre and above in some locations, worsening the cost-of-living crisis triggered by fuel subsidy removal three years ago. They gave the Federal Government till Wednesday, September 30, 2026, to act, warning of palpable tension among workers.
The JNPSNC, which includes the Nigerian Civil Service Union, Medical and Health Workers Union, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and others, also demanded an immediate Wage Award, upward review of salaries and allowances across federal, state and local governments, and immediate constitution of a committee to negotiate a new National Minimum Wage ahead of January 2027.
Under its proposed 2027 salary structure, the council proposed N500,000 per month as minimum salary for an officer on Grade Level 01 Step 1, plus harmonised wages across MDAs, periodic adjustments linked to inflation, subsidised transport and affordable housing.
The council rejected food palliatives like rice and noodles as unsustainable, describing them as weaponising Nigerians with poverty, and instead called for a fuel intervention fund to bring petrol to N500 per litre and for crude oil to be sold in naira to local refineries.
Acting NLC General Secretary Benson Upah described the demands as realistic and legitimate, saying workers wages have remained static while inflation has eroded earnings and petrol hikes have pushed up transport and living costs.
