The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on its affiliates and workers across the country to prepare for a fresh nationwide struggle for a new national minimum wage, declaring that the current ₦70,000 minimum wage has become a “poverty wage” that can no longer sustain Nigerian workers amid rising inflation and the high cost of living.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 NLC Rain School in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, NLC President Joe Ajaero said the congress would intensify efforts to secure a living wage for Nigerian workers, arguing that soaring food prices, transportation costs, healthcare expenses, and inflation have significantly eroded the value of the current minimum wage. He urged labour unions and workers to prepare for what he described as an ideological and economic battle.
Ajaero also disclosed that the NLC would not only push for a review of the national minimum wage but would equally demand the introduction of a national minimum pension, insisting that retirees deserve an income that reflects current economic realities rather than being left in poverty after years of service.
The renewed call comes as pressure mounts on the Federal Government to review workers’ wages in line with the three-year review provision contained in the National Minimum Wage Act, with labour leaders insisting that Nigerian workers deserve salaries that match the country’s rising cost of living.
