The Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria has officially rejected the Federal Government’s proposed N70,000 transport allowance and relief packages, demanding instead an immediate, comprehensive salary increase to cushion workers against the biting economic hardship.

In a strongly worded statement issued in Abuja by TUC President Festus Osifo and Secretary-General N.A. Toro, the labor congress argued that temporary wage awards and allowances are inadequate and have historically suffered from poor implementation across federal and state tiers.

The labor leadership pointed out that previous wage award agreements established in October 2023 were never holistically honored, leaving many workers owed arrears or entirely excluded from payments.

Consequently, the TUC insisted that the government should prioritize structural salary adjustments rather than relying on short-term palliatives. The congress proposed raising the baseline salary of the lowest-paid worker to N300,000, complemented by appropriate consequential adjustments across other grade levels.

Furthermore, the TUC lashed out at the executive over the continued delay in fulfilling a seven-month-old agreement regarding the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

The union warned that the government’s failure to honor collective bargaining agreements severely undermines mutual trust and called for immediate, tangible actions to respect workers’ rights and improve living conditions nationwide.