The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has ordered its state chapters to take the 2026 May Day celebrations to the streets in states that have failed to fully implement the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act, escalating pressure on non-compliant governments.

In a directive issued to its state councils and signed by its General Secretary, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, the Congress decried what it described as widespread violations of the law by several state governments, particularly in the areas of consequential salary adjustments, timely payment, and the inclusion of local government workers, primary school teachers, and health personnel.

The NLC stressed that May Day, globally recognised as a moment of reflection on workers’ rights and solidarity, must not be reduced to ceremonial gatherings in states where those rights are being undermined. It warned that holding celebrations in government houses or banquet halls under such conditions would amount to endorsing injustice.

“This constitutes not only a breach of the law but an assault on the dignity of Nigerian workers,” the statement said.

According to the Congress, workers in affected states are to assemble at labour houses, union secretariats, or designated public spaces from 7:00 a.m. on May 1 before embarking on peaceful but resolute processions through major streets in their respective state capitals.

The marches, it said, are expected to terminate at key government institutions, including state government houses, state houses of assembly, or offices of heads of service, where formal memoranda of demands will be submitted.

The NLC maintained that the directive is binding, warning that any state council leadership that substitutes the planned street actions with indoor celebrations in defaulting states would face disciplinary measures.

“Comrades, the 2024 Minimum Wage Act did not come through supplication. It came through struggle,” the statement noted, adding that “to celebrate May Day indoors while our rights are trampled upon is to betray that legacy.”

The Congress said the move reflects a shift from passive commemoration to active resistance, urging workers nationwide to “return to the streets” in defence of their rights and the gains secured through years of agitation. (TRIBUNE)

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