The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has challenged the Federal Government to immediately increase workers’ salaries without waiting for a new Minimum Wage Act.
Speaking at the union’s National Administrative Council meeting, TUC President Festus Osifo said the minimum wage is the lowest amount an employer is allowed to pay, not a cap on salaries.
He argued that the government can use its executive powers to raise entry-level salaries in the federal civil service and review allowances to cushion the effect of rising living costs, instead of making workers wait until 2027, when the current wage cycle ends.
Osifo cited the private sector as proof, noting that companies pay based on skills and economic realities, not the minimum wage benchmark.
“If you are a university graduate and you are to be employed in a bank, are they going to start you from the minimum wage? The answer is no,” he said.
He added that firms like Nestlé and Cadbury pay a “living wage” to retain talent, and the government should do the same.
The labour leader stressed that the ₦70,000 minimum wage passed in 2024 is a mandatory baseline for three years, but it does not stop the government, as an employer, from improving pay.
“The government can say that it wants to pay the least-paid worker in the federal government payroll ₦200,000 or ₦400,000, for example, and graduate it upwards,” Osifo stated.
“Allowances don’t need a minimum wage conversation, and even salaries, government on its own can actually push the salaries of workers up,” he added.
