The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected claims that it negotiated the N40,000 consequential salary adjustment granted to federal workers, saying the responsibility belonged entirely to public sector unions.
The labour centre described reports linking its leadership to the agreement as misleading, accusing some individuals of deliberately misrepresenting Nigeria’s collective bargaining process to create confusion among workers and the general public.
In a statement issued yesterday by its Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, the NLC explained that its responsibility during national minimum wage negotiations is different from that of unions negotiating consequential adjustments across various sectors.
According to the Congress, the national minimum wage is determined through a tripartite process involving organised labour, the government and employers’ representatives. The NLC said its role in that arrangement is to negotiate the minimum amount employers must pay workers, which serves as the foundation for other salary structures.
However, once a new minimum wage has been agreed upon, the responsibility for adjusting existing salary structures rests with the unions operating in the different sectors.
The NLC explained that in the public sector, consequential adjustments are negotiated by the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), which comprises government representatives and the leadership of about eight trade unions. Similar negotiations take place between state-level negotiating councils and their respective state governments.
In the private sector, industrial unions negotiate directly with employers’ associations, taking into account the conditions and peculiarities of their industries.
The Congress cited the food and beverage industry as an example, explaining that the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers negotiates with the National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees on how the national minimum wage should be implemented in that sector.
Although the NLC represents workers in both the public and private sectors, it stressed that this does not mean it directly negotiates consequential adjustments for every sector.
It maintained that the unions operating within each sector are responsible for the outcomes of those negotiations.
On the N40,000 adjustment granted to federal workers, the Congress was particularly emphatic, stating that the agreement was reached under the responsibility of public sector union leaders and should not be attributed to the NLC.
The labour centre also noted that this arrangement is not new, explaining that throughout the history of national minimum wage negotiations, the NLC has never directly negotiated consequential adjustments with the government or private sector employers. It said the JPSNC has traditionally handled such negotiations in the public sector, while joint negotiating bodies within different industries perform similar roles in the private sector.
The Congress accused those spreading what it described as false information of attempting to create divisions within the labour movement, particularly as discussions over a new national minimum wage approach.
It warned that shifting responsibility for the N40,000 agreement could prevent workers from holding the appropriate institutions accountable for decisions affecting their earnings.
Reaffirming its commitment to Nigerian workers, the NLC said it would continue to push for a new national minimum wage that reflects the realities of workers and moves closer to providing a living wage.
The Congress added that it would also work towards ensuring that future consequential adjustment negotiations are handled by the appropriate institutions in ways that deliver better outcomes for workers across the country.
