Get Guardian on GoogleThree public service trade unions have disowned the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) stance on the N70,000 transport allowance agreed with the Federal Government.
The unions, including the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), the Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI), and the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), accused the council of excluding them from consultations on the controversial N70, 000 transport allowances for public servants.
The three unions claimed they neither participated in preparing the statement issued on October 30, 2026, nor authorised anyone to speak for them.
They also aligned with the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) in rejecting the transport intervention as inadequate amid rising transportation, food, housing, and other living costs, insisting that workers need improved salaries rather than temporary financial relief.
In a joint statement issued on November 1st, 2026, and signed by their respective presidents, Kayode Alakija, Dr John Alli and Dr Kamal Ibrahim, the unions described the purported JNPSNC statement as unauthorised and rejected its presentation as the collective position of public service trade unions.
They alleged that the exclusion extended to the JNPSNC’s Vice Chairman, who represented the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), arguing that failing to consult a major constituent union further undermined the process’s credibility.
The unions maintained that they represented workers across statutory corporations, government-owned companies, universities, teaching hospitals, general hospitals and research institutions, making their exclusion from decisions affecting workers’ welfare unacceptable.
They argued that public service workers should not be recognised as employees for the purpose of imposing obligations on them while their representative unions are denied a voice in negotiations over salaries, welfare and conditions of service.
On the N70, 000 transport intervention, the unions said the payment could not substitute for decent wages, fair remuneration or a sustainable improvement in workers’ living standards.
Their position reinforced the TUC’s rejection of the allowance and its demand for a salary increase to cushion the impact of rising living costs on public servants.
The unions also questioned how the consequential adjustment from the previous minimum wage implementation was handled, alleging that workers were disadvantaged when a proposed 133 per cent adjustment was replaced with a flat N40,000 addition across the salary structure.
According to them, the approach undermined salary differentials and disadvantaged workers whose remuneration should have reflected their respective positions within the salary structure.
They called for transparency and a review of the adjustment, arguing that workers should not continue to bear the consequences of what they described as inadequate bargaining outcomes.
The three unions further cautioned that the JNPSNC must not assume the functions of a national labour centre alongside the TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
While acknowledging the council’s role as a public service negotiating platform, they insisted that it must respect the independence of registered trade unions and the representative responsibilities of the two recognised national labour centres.
Among their demands are formal recognition of their disassociation from the October 30, 2026statement, an end to presenting it as the collective position of all public service trade unions, and appropriate representation in relevant negotiating structures.
They also demanded respect for the TUC’s position on the transport intervention, including its demand for a salary increase, and urged the Federal Government and relevant negotiating authorities to address the alleged exclusion.
The unions maintained that trade union unity must be built on consultation, respect and legitimate representation rather than imposed through exclusion.
