The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are preparing to demand a cost of living allowance (COLA) in response to Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions, according to NLC President Joe Ajaero.
Ajaero revealed that the N70,000 minimum wage, which was accepted after a series of strikes and protests, has already lost its value due to inflation. Labour had initially pushed for a living wage indexed to inflation, but government negotiators were unprepared and unresponsive during talks. Despite an earlier agreement that fuel prices would not rise if labour accepted the N70,000 wage, the government reneged, further eroding workers’ purchasing power.
With the economic crisis deepening and wage relief measures like the wage award discontinued, Ajaero stated that Labour is justified in demanding a new COLA to cushion the effects of inflation. He also criticized state governors for failing to utilize funds from fuel subsidy removal to improve citizens’ welfare.
On the theme of this year’s May Day celebration “Reclaiming the Civic Space in the Midst of Economic Hardship” Ajaero explained that it reflected the current reality of shrinking democratic freedoms and economic suffering. He recalled past resistance movements like the 1980s anti-Structural Adjustment Programme protests and emphasized that citizens must be free to protest government policies that harm them.
He warned that denying citizens access to peaceful protest a democratic right only aggravates public anger and echoes Nigeria’s history of economic resistance, such as the 1929 Aba Women’s Protest.
