The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has issued a stark warning that the worsening economic conditions in the country are pushing workers and their families to a dangerous precipice. The labour centre highlighted that escalating poverty, relentless inflation, and government policies favouring austerity are creating an existential threat to livelihoods and social stability.
TUC President Sounds Alarm on Deepening Crisis
TUC President-General, Festus Osifo, described the situation as grave, stating it jeopardises not just individual survival but the very fabric of society and the unity of the labour movement itself. He delivered this message at the First Quadrennial State Delegates’ Conference of the Oyo State Council on January 1, 2026.
Represented by the Acting Deputy General Secretary, Olawunmi Jimoh, Osifo stressed that the hardship faced by workers had reached an alarming peak, necessitating immediate and compassionate intervention from all tiers of government. He cited sobering World Bank statistics indicating that approximately 56 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line.
"Today, the average worker’s salary can no longer meet basic needs. Feeding, transportation, healthcare, rent and education have become luxuries rather than essentials," Osifo lamented. He further noted that insecurity, unemployment, and widening inequality were compounding the crisis for millions of households.
Structural Failures and a Call for Policy Reversal
According to the TUC leader, these challenges are symptoms of deeper structural problems plaguing the national economy. He listed:
- Runaway inflation
- Food insecurity
- Unaffordable education
- Epileptic power supply
- A weakened agricultural base
- An economy driven more by debt than productivity
Osifo called for a decisive shift from policies that punish the poor to measures that actively protect livelihoods. He urged governments to retain subsidies for the most vulnerable instead of imposing harsh austerity programmes. He also demanded the urgent implementation of robust social protection schemes and effective wage review mechanisms to restore dignity to labour.
In a firm political stance, Osifo criticised legislative attempts to transfer labour matters to the concurrent legislative list, labelling the proposal as "anti-worker, retrogressive and a direct threat" to the labour movement's unity. He announced that all state councils were on "red alert" and vowed that the TUC would resist the bill through all lawful means.
Academic Backing and an "Agenda for Tomorrow"
Reinforcing the TUC's position, Prof. Omotoye Olorode, a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and veteran activist, provided an academic perspective. Speaking on ‘The Impact of Inflation on Workers’ Wages and Living Standards in Nigeria’, Olorode argued that inflation is not merely an economic phenomenon but a product of political power, class relations, and decades of IMF and World Bank-inspired structural adjustment policies.
While acknowledging that Nigeria’s inflation rate slowed to 16.05 per cent in October 2025 (the lowest since March 2022, with food inflation at 13.12 per cent), he stressed that this slight deceleration had brought no relief. Wages remain grossly inadequate against the soaring cost of living.
Olorode blamed recent inflationary pressures on currency devaluation, subsidy removal, and privatisation, which have intensified unemployment and weakened purchasing power. He also criticised the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024, which set the wage at N70,000, describing it as both inadequate and exclusionary, as it leaves out many in small establishments and the informal sector.
He outlined an "Agenda for Tomorrow," urging the labour movement to campaign for:
- State-led economic planning
- Public ownership of key sectors
- Reversal of privatisation
- Restoration of subsidies in education, healthcare, and agriculture
- Recovery of public assets sold under privatisation
The conference also featured calls for unity from other labour leaders. Former TUC Oyo Chairman Emmanuel Ogundiran praised the collaboration between TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), urging a reclaiming of labour's critical voice. Olusola Olanipekun of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) echoed this sentiment.
Oyo State Head of Service, Olubunmi Oni (represented by Waheed Ajuwon), commended TUC's role in workplace safety. NLC Chairman in the state, Kayode Martins, described Governor Seyi Makinde as "God-sent" for workers, highlighting industrial harmony. Governor Makinde, represented by his Special Adviser on Labour Matters, Bayo Titilola-Sodo, reaffirmed the state's commitment to improving workers' welfare through cooperation.
