Three registered public service trade unions have dissociated themselves from a press release issued in the name of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), accusing the council of excluding key constituent unions from discussions on workers’ welfare and the controversial ₦70,000 transport intervention.
The unions are 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).
In a joint press statement issued on Sunday, November 1, 2026, the unions said they were neither consulted nor invited to any meeting where the issues contained in the JNPSNC statement of October 30 were discussed.
They maintained that they neither participated in preparing the statement nor authorised anyone to speak on their behalf, describing its presentation as the collective position of public service trade unions as unacceptable.
The unions also expressed concern that the Vice Chairman of the JNPSNC, representing the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), was equally excluded from the consultation.
According to them, sidelining the council’s Vice Chairman and a major constituent union representing more than 300,000 public servants raises serious questions about the credibility and inclusiveness of the negotiating process.
They argued that their members across statutory corporations, government-owned companies, universities, teaching hospitals, general hospitals and research institutions should not be recognised as public servants only when obligations are imposed on them, while their unions are excluded from decisions affecting their welfare.
On the ₦70,000 transport intervention approved for public servants, the three unions declared their support for the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) in rejecting the amount as inadequate amid rising transportation, food, housing and other living costs.
They argued that the intervention could not replace decent wages, fair remuneration and sustainable improvements in workers’ living standards.
According to the unions, Nigerian workers deserve adequate remuneration rather than what they described as token gestures, insisting that workers’ contributions should be matched with improved welfare.
The unions also faulted the handling of the consequential salary adjustment arising from the previous minimum wage implementation.
They alleged that instead of applying the 133 per cent adjustment to the lowest-paid worker and appropriately cascading it across the salary structure, the JNPSNC negotiated a flat ₦40,000 increase across the board.
They said the arrangement undermined existing salary differentials and disadvantaged workers, calling for transparency and a review of the adjustment.
JNPSNC Not a Third Labour Centre
The unions further insisted that the JNPSNC is a public service negotiating platform and should not assume the status of a third national labour centre alongside the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the TUC.
They warned against any attempt by the council to usurp the representative responsibilities of the recognised labour centres or undermine the independence of duly registered trade unions.
Among their demands are formal acknowledgement of their disassociation from the October 30 statement, an end to presenting it as the collective position of all public service unions, and recognition of their unions in relevant public service negotiating structures.
They also called for respect for the TUC’s position on the ₦70,000 transport intervention, as well as an end to issuing statements or taking decisions in the name of trade unions without consultation and express authorisation.
The unions said genuine labour unity could only be achieved through respect, consultation and recognition of legitimate representation, rather than exclusion or the silencing of constituent organisations.
They called on the Federal Government and relevant negotiating authorities to address the alleged exclusion and ensure that all negotiating structures operate within their established mandates.
The statement was jointly signed by Comrade Kayode Alakija, President of SSASCGOC; Comrade Dr John Alli, President of SSAUTHRIAI; and Comrade Dr Kamal Ibrahim, President of NUAHP.
The unions concluded with the declaration: “No Consultation, No Consensus! No Mandate, No Representation! No Inclusion, No Legitimacy!”
