The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (Trade Union Side) has urged Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to call an emergency meeting to discuss the delayed payment of a two-month wage award and the implementation of the 40% peculiar allowance for federal workers.
The union stated that it wants to meet with the minister on or before August 11, warning that failure to resolve these concerns might cause unrest among public employees.
In a letter to the minister, National Secretary Gbenga Olowoyo—writing on behalf of National Chairman Benjamin Yanto—expressed the council’s displeasure that the minister had not responded to two prior letters on the subject.
According to the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, the requested meeting aimed to reach an amicable resolution to workers’ outstanding welfare concerns and avert a “brewing industrial crisis.”
It said, “The national leadership expects that this meeting will help to address the above-stated outstanding issues to prevent palpable disquiet and the brewing industrial crisis.”
The council stated that its demands focused on two unresolved issues: the implementation of the 40% unique allowance that the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission allowed, and the payment of a two-month outstanding wage award covering March and April 2026.
The union stated that the commission’s Executive Chairman, Eyo Nta, signed a circular approving the allowance to take effect on May 1, 2026, but authorities have yet to implement it.
The council further argued that the ministry should have paid the outstanding salary award for March and April alongside the workers’ salaries for those months.
The union warned of potential fallout if the ministry fails to handle these concerns, emphasizing that officials should view its latest request as an attempt to prevent workers from taking drastic action.
Previous Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council Warning
The JNPSNC stated that it initially wrote to the minister on May 5, 2026, demanding payment of the outstanding wage award, and followed up with another letter dated July 9, 2026, requesting both the implementation of the 40% unique allowance and payment of the wage award arrears.
The council also claimed that the finance ministry’s extended silence had caused worry among federal employees.
The JNPSNC stated that it initially wrote to the minister on May 5, 2026, demanding payment of the outstanding wage award, and followed up with another letter dated July 9, 2026, requesting both the implementation of the 40% unique allowance and payment of the wage award arrears.
The council also claimed that the finance ministry’s extended silence had caused worry among federal employees.
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Backstory…
The JNPSNC serves as the umbrella bargaining body that represents unions across the federal public sector on salaries, allowances, and working conditions.
This latest warning adds to mounting pressure on the Federal Government to fully implement agreements it struck with organised labour following the termination of fuel subsidies in 2023, alongside measures to mitigate rising living costs for employees.
As part of its agreement with organised labour, the Federal Government introduced a temporary monthly wage award until it could implement a new national minimum wage.
Similarly, the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission issued a circular granting a 40% unique allowance to qualifying federal public personnel, effective May 1, 2026.
However, labour leaders claim that several Ministries, Departments, and Agencies have yet to follow the directive, sparking further worker discontent.
