The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, has faulted the Trade Union Congress over its rejection of the Federal Government’s proposed ₦70,000 transport allowance for workers, insisting that the union was not part of the negotiations that produced the agreement.
Ajaero said the NLC negotiated independently with the Federal Government after the TUC distanced itself from the process.
He spoke on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Thursday, questioning the rationale behind the TUC’s opposition to an agreement it neither negotiated nor signed.
“The agreement was not signed by TUC, and you don’t kick against something that you didn’t negotiate, you never asked for,” he said.
The NLC president added that he would have preferred the TUC to push for a higher allowance, allowing both labour centres to negotiate with the government towards a mutually acceptable outcome.
“I would have preferred a situation whereby if NLC was asking for one naira, TUC would be asking for 10 naira, and probably the government would harmonise it,” Ajaero stated.
He traced the disagreement between the two labour centres to an earlier position attributed to the TUC president that negotiations on the minimum wage would be due in August 2027.
According to Ajaero, the NLC disagreed with that position, arguing that it was inconsistent with the law, and decided to pursue its engagement with the government independently.
He explained that the TUC had protested when reports emerged that both unions were jointly meeting with government representatives.
“When we started the first meeting, the media reported that NLC and TUC had a meeting. They threatened us and said they are not part of it,” Ajaero said.
He added that the NLC subsequently issued a statement clarifying that it was acting alone in the negotiations.
Ajaero also dismissed the suggestion that the government could grant workers an immediate salary increase without a formal negotiation process involving the relevant stakeholders.
“Does the government dash wage increase? There must be a process put in place,” he said.
READ ALSO: TUC Rejects FG’s ₦70,000 Wage Award, Demands ₦300,000 Minimum salary
He maintained that the NLC had advocated for the relevant committee to begin work immediately, rather than wait until August 2027, as reportedly proposed by the TUC.
The disagreement followed the TUC’s rejection of the proposed ₦70,000 transport allowance and its demand for an immediate salary increase to cushion the impact of prevailing economic hardship on Nigerian workers.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the TUC president, Festus Osifo, and its Secretary-General, N.A. Toro, argued that temporary wage awards were insufficient to address workers’ financial challenges, insisting that a substantive salary adjustment was necessary.
The congress also accused the Federal Government of failing to fulfil its 2023 wage award obligations to some workers.
Additionally, it criticised the government over an agreement on the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure for health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions, which it said had remained unimplemented for seven months.
The opposing positions have exposed a disagreement between Nigeria’s two major labour centres over the appropriate response to rising living costs and the best way to secure improved wages for workers.