….Workers Reject Food Palliatives
….Demand Fuel Intervention Fund, Inflation-Linked Pay Reviews
Daud Olatunji
Civil servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, Trade Union Side (JNPSNC), have demanded that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu slash the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, to N500 per litre, while approving an immediate wage award for workers.
The workers also want the Federal Government to commence negotiations for a new National Minimum Wage ahead of January 2027, with a proposed N500,000 monthly minimum salary for entry-level public servants under the new wage structure.
The demands were contained in a letter addressed to President Tinubu by the JNPSNC as the workers raised concerns over what they described as worsening economic hardship and the continued erosion of workers’ purchasing power.
The council reportedly warned that the prevailing petrol price of about N1,430 per litre had placed additional pressure on workers and households, particularly through rising transportation and living costs.
It consequently urged the President to urgently intervene by introducing measures capable of reducing the cost of petrol and cushioning the effects of inflation.
The workers specifically proposed the establishment of a fuel intervention fund, which they said would help reduce the burden of fuel costs and ease inflationary pressure on Nigerians.
The civil servants also rejected continued reliance on food palliatives as a solution to the economic hardship, arguing that such interventions could not provide a lasting answer to the declining purchasing power of workers.
The council instead backed the position of the Nigeria Labour Congress 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 petroleum storage capacity.
They also advocated targeted government support for citizens during emergencies.
The workers’ position places the cost of petrol and its wider impact on the economy at the centre of their demands, with the council arguing that cheaper energy costs would help ease pressure on household incomes and businesses.
On wages, the JNPSNC proposed a major review of public-sector remuneration ahead of the 2027 wage negotiations.
The council demanded that the minimum salary for entry-level officers should be fixed at N500,000 per month under the proposed 2027 salary template.
It also called for harmonised remuneration across ministries, departments and agencies, alongside periodic salary reviews tied to inflation.
The workers further demanded welfare measures, including subsidised transportation and housing support, to cushion the impact of rising living costs on public servants.
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 household obligations.
In addition to the proposed 2027 salary structure, the workers asked the Federal Government to approve an immediate wage award, apparently as an interim measure to cushion public servants pending the commencement and conclusion of negotiations on a new wage framework.
The demand comes against the backdrop of sustained concerns over 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 reportedly gave the Federal Government until September 30, 2026, to act on its demands.
It also urged President Tinubu to address the issues in his Independence Day broadcast, specifically highlighting the concerns over fuel affordability, workers’ wages and the rising cost of living.
The proposed N500 petrol price, however, represents a demand of the workers’ negotiating council and would require government policy decisions and consideration of the fiscal and market implications before implementation.
Similarly, the proposed N500,000 entry-level salary forms part of the workers’ position ahead of the 2027 wage 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 salary framework at the centre of the workers’ engagement with the Federal Government ahead of 2027.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the council’s demands include a reduction of petrol to N500 per litre, an immediate wage award, a N500,000 proposed entry-level salary, inflation-linked pay reviews, subsidised transportation and housing support, as well as a fuel intervention fund.
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