The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has rejected the Federal Government’s proposed N70,000 transport allowance for workers, insisting that a permanent salary increase is a more sustainable way to cushion the effects of rising living costs.
The Secretary-General of TUC, Nuhu Toro, disclosed this during an interview with TVC News on Wednesday, where he outlined seven reasons the labour organisation was opposed to the proposed intervention.
Toro argued that the proposed allowance, which is expected to last for only six months, would provide temporary relief without addressing the financial difficulties confronting Nigerian workers.
He said previous government interventions had shown that temporary wage awards were often unsustainable, with some workers still struggling to receive payments from earlier arrangements.
“History has shown that no wage award in Nigeria is sustainable. As I speak to you today, there are MDAs, parastatals and government agencies that have not paid the wage award,” he said.
The TUC official specifically cited the N40,000 wage award introduced in 2023, noting that some government agencies were yet to fulfil their payment obligations.
According to him, the failure to settle previous wage awards raises concerns about the effectiveness of another temporary financial intervention.
Instead, Toro called on the Federal Government to incorporate the proposed N70,000 into workers’ monthly salaries, preferably under their transport or housing allowances.
He maintained that making the amount a permanent component of workers’ remuneration would provide more consistent financial support than a six-month relief package.
“Why don’t you embed it into the component of salary? Say, for instance, N70,000 is added to either transport or housing allowance of workers,” he said.
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