ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Nigeria Labour Congress has instructed workers in states yet to fully implement the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act to mark May Day 2026 on the streets, suspending all indoor or official celebrations.
In a statement issued on Friday and signed by its General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, the union criticised several state governments for failing to enforce key provisions of the Act, including consequential salary adjustments for senior workers, prompt and consistent payment of the new wage, and extending its coverage to local government employees, primary school teachers, and health workers.
The NLC described these shortcomings as not only a violation of the law but also an affront to the dignity of Nigerian workers.
President Bola Tinubu had signed the revised minimum wage bill into law on July 29, 2024, increasing the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.
Despite this, several states have yet to fully comply with the new wage structure.
May Day, also known as International Workers Day, is observed annually on May 1 to celebrate workers and labour movements around the world.
However, the NLC is urging workers to use the occasion to reflect on the state of labour rights and their contributions to national development.
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The union directed its state councils in non-compliant states to avoid holding any May Day events in government houses, banquet halls, or other enclosed venues organised by or in collaboration with defaulting state governments.
All official receptions have been suspended.
Workers have been asked to gather at designated labour houses, union secretariats, or public squares by 7:00 a.m. on May 1, 2026, before proceeding in peaceful, organised, and determined processions through their respective state capitals.
Each state council is expected to map out routes ending at either the State Government House, the State House of Assembly, or the office of the Head of Service, where formal memoranda of demands will be presented.
“Comrades, the 2024 Minimum Wage Act did not come through supplication. It came through struggle. To celebrate May Day indoors while our rights are trampled upon is to betray that legacy. Let us therefore return to the streets!” the statement read.
Dissatisfaction with the N70,000 minimum wage remains widespread among workers and labour unions, many of whom argue that it is inadequate amid rising inflation and increasing living costs.
They noted that inflation has significantly eroded the real value of the wage, making it insufficient to meet basic needs such as education, housing, and food, with some describing it as “too poor” and a potential driver of corruption.
The NLC has also called for an urgent review of the wage, citing soaring inflation and unsustainable income levels.
In March 2026, organised labour proposed a new minimum wage of N154,000, including a 120 per cent salary adjustment tied to inflation.