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….Workers refuse food palliatives
…Fuel Demand Intervention Fund, revisions of inflation-linked payments
Daud Olatunji
Civil servants of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, union side (JNPSNC), have asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reduce the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, to N500 per litre, while approving an immediate wage premium for workers.
The workers also want the federal government to begin negotiations for a new national minimum wage before January 2027, with a proposed monthly minimum wage of N500,000 for entry-level civil servants under the new salary structure.
The demands were contained in a letter addressed to President Tinubu by the JNPSNC as workers expressed concern over what they described as worsening economic hardship and continued erosion of workers’ purchasing power.
The council reportedly warned that the prevailing petrol price of about N1,430 per liter has put further pressure on workers and families, particularly through increased transportation and cost of living.
He therefore urged the President to urgently intervene by introducing measures capable of reducing the cost of petrol and mitigating the effects of inflation.
The workers specifically proposed the creation of a fuel intervention fund, which they said would help reduce the burden of fuel costs and ease inflationary pressure on Nigerians.
Public officials have also refused to continue to rely on food palliatives as a solution to economic hardship, arguing that such interventions could not provide a lasting response to workers’ declining purchasing power.
The council instead supported the Nigeria Labor Congress’ position on measures to address the fuel crisis.
Among other proposals, the workers called for crude oil to be sold in Naira to local refineries and for the government to expand oil storage capacity.
They also supported targeted government support for citizens during emergencies.
The workers’ position puts the cost of petrol and its wider impact on the economy at the heart of their demands, with the council arguing that lower energy costs would help ease pressure on household and business incomes.
On wages, the JNPSNC has proposed a major overhaul of public sector pay ahead of the 2027 wage negotiations.
The council called for the minimum salary for entry-level officers to be set at N500,000 per month under the proposed 2027 salary model.
It also called for harmonized remuneration across ministries, departments and agencies, as well as periodic inflation-linked salary reviews.
Workers have also called for welfare measures, including subsidized transport and housing support, to cushion the impact of the rising cost of living on public employees.
According to the Council, the proposed measures are necessary to protect workers from further erosion of their real earnings and improve their ability to meet basic family obligations.
In addition to the proposed wage structure for 2027, workers have called on the federal government to approve an immediate wage allocation, apparently as an interim measure to protect public employees while negotiations on a new wage framework begin and conclude.
The question comes against a backdrop of persistent concerns about the relationship between wages, inflation and the cost of essential goods and services.
The JNPSNC argued that workers needed immediate relief rather than waiting for the outcome of future wage negotiations.
The council has reportedly given the federal government until September 30, 2026 to act on its requests.
He also urged President Tinubu to address the issue in his Independence Day broadcast, particularly highlighting concerns over fuel affordability, workers’ wages and the rising cost of living.
The proposed N500 petrol price, however, represents a demand from the workers’ bargaining council and would require government policy decisions and consideration of fiscal and market implications before implementation.
Likewise, the proposed starting salary of N500,000 is part of the position of workers ahead of the 2027 salary negotiations and is not an approved government salary structure.
The JNPSNC’s demands effectively place fuel affordability, emergency wage relief and a new public sector wage framework at the heart of workers’ engagement with the federal government ahead of 2027.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the council’s demands include a reduction in petrol to N500 per litre, an immediate wage premium, a proposed starting salary of N500,000, inflation-linked salary reviews, subsidized transport and housing support, as well as a fuel intervention fund.
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