3 Unions Back TUC, Reject N70,000 Transport Allowance

Three public service trade unions have declared support for the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) in rejecting the federal government’s N70,000 transport intervention.

They said the allowance is inadequate amid the rising cost of living and are demanding improved salaries for workers.

The unions also disowned a press release issued in the name of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) on 30 October 2026, accusing the council of excluding constituent unions from consultations and presenting an unauthorised position as the collective voice of public service workers.

The unions are the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), the Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI), and the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP).

In a joint statement signed by their respective presidents, Comrade Kayode Alakija, Comrade Dr John Alli, and Comrade Dr Kamal Ibrahim, the unions said they were neither consulted nor invited to any meeting in which the issues contained in the JNPSNC statement were discussed.

They maintained that they did not participate in its preparation, endorse its contents or authorise anyone to speak on their behalf, insisting that the statement could not be presented as the collective position of public service trade unions.

The unions also alleged that the Vice Chairman of the JNPSNC, representing the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), was not consulted.

They described the development as disturbing, noting that ASCSN, a constituent member of the council and a registered union representing over 300,000 public servants, was equally excluded.

According to them, excluding the council’s own vice chairman and a major constituent union called the credibility of the consultation process into question.

The three organisations said they represent workers across federal and state government establishments, including statutory corporations, government-owned companies, universities, teaching hospitals, general hospitals and research institutions.

They faulted the alleged exclusion of their members from decisions affecting their salaries, welfare and conditions of service, arguing that unions should not be bound by positions reached without their participation or mandate.

On the N70,000 transport intervention, the unions aligned themselves with the TUC’s position, arguing that the allowance could not adequately address the economic pressures facing Nigerian workers.

They said the rising costs of transportation, food, housing and other essential needs had made the intervention insufficient, stressing that workers deserved improved remuneration rather than temporary financial relief.

The statement reads, “We align ourselves with the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) in rejecting the N70,000 transport intervention as grossly inadequate against the prevailing economic hardship and escalating cost of living.

With transportation, food, housing, and other essentials becoming increasingly unaffordable, this intervention is no substitute for decent wages, fair remuneration, or sustainable improvements in workers’ living standards. Nigerian workers deserve justice, not token gestures. Their labour must be matched with dignified and adequate remuneration.”

“The three unions were neither consulted nor invited to any meeting where the issues contained in the statement were discussed. They did not participate in its preparation, endorse its contents or authorise anyone to speak on their behalf.

This approach undermined salary differentials and disadvantaged workers. We demand transparency and a review of that adjustment. Workers must not continue to bear the consequences of inadequate bargaining outcomes.

Our position is clear: you cannot speak for workers without their mandate. You cannot claim consensus without consultation. You cannot negotiate workers’ welfare while denying their unions the right to representation.”

The statement also raised concerns over the consequential adjustment arising from the previous minimum wage implementation.

According to the unions, instead of applying the 133 per cent adjustment to the lowest-paid worker and appropriately cascading it across the salary structure, the JNPSNC negotiated a flat N40,000 across-the-board addition.

They argued that the arrangement undermined salary differentials and disadvantaged workers, calling for transparency and a review of the adjustment.

Among their demands, the unions called for formal acknowledgement of their dissociation from the 30 October statement, an end to its presentation as the collective position of all public service trade unions, and appropriate representation of their organisations in relevant public service negotiating structures.

They also demanded respect for the TUC’s rejection of the N70,000 transport intervention and its demand for a salary increase.

The unions urged the federal government and relevant negotiating authorities to address the alleged exclusion and ensure that all negotiating structures operate within their established mandates.