The disagreement between the two main labour centres, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), over the federal government’s N70,000 transportation allowance approved for public servants seemed to be deepening as Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) backed NLC against TUC, which rejected the allowance.
National Secretary of JNPSNC, Comrade Gbenga Olowoyo, said, in circular to affiliate unions and state councils, that the agreement leading to approval of the allowance was the product of constructive engagement and exhaustive negotiation.
Olowoyo said the meeting was presided by Minister of Labour and Employment, Alhaji Mohamed Maigari Dingyadi, and attended by a labour team led by NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero, with the participation of the leadership of JNPSNC and Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU).
According to the circular, the meeting was tough and lasted more than six hours before both sides reached the terms.
Olowoyo said the N70,000 monthly transportation allowance to be paid for the next six months to public servants, starting November 2026, and it was meant to subsidise unbearable transportation costs being experienced by workers.
He expressed hope that states and local governments, with their current humongous allocations, will be patriotic enough to concur with the agreement to complement the federal government’s effort to ameliorate the hardship of workers and their dependants.
He said the agreement also cemented implementation of long overdue 40 per cent peculiar allowance, reflecting N70,000 minimum wage, which ought to have started since July 2024, when the new minimum wage commenced.
The allowance will be domesticated at sub-national levels from November 2026 while arrears from May 1, 2026 will be paid in three tranches.
Olowoyo stated that the federal government agreed to set up a tripartite negotiation committee comprising government, labour, and Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) representatives with immediate effect, which formed the focal request from JNPSNC under Comrade Benjamin Anto Uyanto that necessitated the three-day warning strike called on October 2, 2026.
Olowoyo tried to correct what he termed a notion that NLC was a union of junior workers, saying all unions affiliated to NLC have members across Ministries, Departments and Agencies up to Directorate level.
He said the clarification became necessary because of the position taken by TUC, which rejected the allowance, though it was never part of the discussion.
“TUC has explicit right to express opinion on any matter it is directly involved, but not on what it was not part of at any stage of engagement or negotiation with the federal government,” he said.
He, however, said it would be commendable if TUC could secure higher amounts, above the N70,000 already agreed by NLC, JNPSNC and JOHESU.
The circular added that the meeting also resolved other long-standing issues, including CONHESS adjustment demand since the past 13 years. It said National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) was given three weeks to finish work on the adjustment and forward to Presidential Committee on Salaries headed by Minister of Finance, for approval.
It approved payment of 19-month arrears of health workers allowances in three instalments from December 2026, and resolved the issuance of circular for hazard allowance to agricultural professional officers within three weeks.
On tax relief, it was agreed that the matter will be presented to National Economic Council as it involved the federal and state governments.
The meeting gave a window of one month to reconvene to evaluate implementation level.
Olowoyo said rejection of any item by any trade union was inconsequential to implementation because a wider spectrum of workers had applauded the decision as a step in the right direction.
SOURCE: THISDAY
