As new negotiations are set to begin over a new national minimum wage soon, there are indications that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) will advocate a shift from a national wage floor to stronger, sector-specific Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) that better reflect reigning economic realities.
 
The union argued that the minimum wage has been eroded by inflation, currency depreciation, and rising living costs, making it inadequate, particularly for highly skilled oil and gas workers.
 
Through CBAs, PENGASSAN said, workers can secure pay that aligns with industry realities and economic conditions, citing past negotiations that delivered substantial wage increases.

While not calling for the abolition of the minimum wage, the union insists that sectoral CBAs should be the primary mechanism for protecting and improving workers’ earnings.
 
President of the union, Festus Osifo, who stated this at an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the death of a former President of the union, Marcus Okoro, who died in the ill-fated Sosoliso plane crash in 2005, said the lessons of Okoro’s life point to the need for a sustainable worker welfare built not on statutory wages alone, but on negotiated conditions of service backed by union strength.

His words: “Minimum wage is the floor, not the ceiling. What truly guarantees dignity, security, and fairness at work is a properly negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
 
Osifo disclosed that implementation of the current national minimum wage has reached over 95 per cent across the states, following reports received at the most recent Trade Union Congress (TUC) National Executive Council meeting held in December.
 
However, he warned that celebrating minimum wage compliance without strengthening CBAs amounts to mistaking survival for progress.
 “Minimum wage only tells you the least an employer can pay. It does not define career progression, job security, healthcare, pensions, allowances, training, or workplace protections. That is the role of CBAs.”
 
According to him, workers in sectors without robust CBAs remain vulnerable, even when minimum wage is paid, inflation, arbitrary deductions, and poor conditions of service quickly erode earnings. Osifo pointed to the oil and gas sector as proof that CBAs work when unions are organised, knowledgeable, and firm.

He said decades of structured bargaining by PENGASSAN have ensured that workers in the sector enjoy conditions far above the national minimum wage. He explained: “That is why oil and gas workers are not waiting every five years for minimum wage negotiations to survive. Their CBAs already define living wages and humane conditions.” He revealed that this model is now being actively promoted within the broader labour movement.
 
He disclosed that PENGASSAN and the TUC recently engaged the Federal Ministry of Health, alongside the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, urging health sector unions to prioritise comprehensive CBAs.