Federal workers have backed organised labour’s demand for a reduction in the pump price of petrol to ₦500 per litre by 30 September 2026, warning that they could join a three-day warning strike if the government fails to meet the demand.
The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) made the position known in a communiqué issued on Tuesday after an online general meeting held on Sunday.
The communiqué, signed by the forum’s National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze, and General Secretary, Comrade Ogundele Ayodele, said members unanimously agreed to support the Joint National Public Service Negotiation Council’s (JNPSNC) demand for a lower petrol price.
“We fully support calls for an immediate reduction in fuel prices and a living wage by the JNPSNC,” the forum said.
The FWF also called for corresponding reductions in the prices of kerosene, diesel and cooking gas.
It urged federal workers to mobilise for any industrial action declared by organised labour if the government failed to meet the demands, while calling on Nigerians to support the campaign for lower petrol prices.
The forum also backed labour’s demand for what it described as a living wage, arguing that continued suppression of workers’ incomes reflected poor governance.
It called for the immediate reinstatement of the wage award in the form of a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), saying payments should not be delayed.
Minimum wage demands
The FWF urged the JNPSNC to press the Federal Government to fully implement the ₦70,000 minimum wage from July 2024, including consequential adjustment arrears and the 40 per cent peculiar allowance.
“It is illogical to discuss a new wage structure when the ₦70,000 minimum wage has not yet been fully implemented by the federal government,” the forum said.
Beyond the existing minimum wage, the workers’ group called for an immediate review of federal workers’ salaries, proposing a minimum of ₦300,000 and a maximum of ₦1.5m for Level 17 officers.
The forum attributed worsening living conditions to the removal of the petrol subsidy, which it described as a mechanism for imposing additional costs on citizens.
It disputed the government’s justification for the subsidy policy and alleged that increases in petrol prices amounted to indirect taxation and other economic measures.
Opposition to school privatisation
The FWF also opposed plans to concession or privatise federal unity colleges, specifically mentioning King’s College, Lagos.
It urged the Federal Government to abandon what it described as an “obscure ideological agenda” of transferring public schools to private operators and instead continue to fund education as a public responsibility.
The forum also criticised politicians who have questioned the ₦70,000 minimum wage, describing such criticism as hypocritical.
“We do not need their sympathy. We deserve justice and a decent wage, not pity,” it said.
The FWF further rejected objections from the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to an immediate review of federal workers’ salaries, accusing the group of taking an anti-worker position.
FWF tackles labour leadership
The forum called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to review their approach to negotiations with the government and adopt new strategies for addressing workers’ welfare.
It specifically urged TUC President Festus Osifo to focus on workers’ concerns and stop what it described as interference in the affairs of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN).
The FWF said the TUC should not encourage actions that could undermine court judgments, adding that it recognised Comrade Bola Innocent Audu as the legitimate leader of the union based on the court ruling it referenced.
The forum also called for an immediate town hall meeting between federal workers and President Bola Tinubu to discuss workers’ needs and measures to improve productivity.
It further appealed to the United Nations to consider what it described as the systemic exploitation of labour and payment of inadequate wages in Nigeria as a crime against humanity.
