Kaduna Workers Threaten Strike Over Delayed Salary Adjustments
By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna
The Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) in Kaduna State has threatened to embark on industrial action following prolonged delays by the state government in approving and implementing consequential salary adjustments for core civil servants.
The warning came after a meeting of the council’s State Administrative Council held on March 30, 2026, at the Secretariat of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) in Kaduna, where labour leaders expressed frustration over what they described as deliberate inaction and lack of commitment by the government.
In a press statement issued at the end of the meeting, the JNC said it had exercised considerable patience since the submission of the report of the State Minimum Wage and Consequential Adjustments Committee in November 2024, but noted that no concrete steps had been taken toward implementation.
The council recalled that the committee, set up in October 2024, was mandated to review and recommend appropriate salary adjustments following the approval of a new minimum wage. However, instead of implementing the report, the government in January 2025 initiated a staff verification exercise through external consultants to identify ghost workers, a process that extended far beyond its initial three-month timeline without yielding any progress on wage adjustments.
According to the JNC, several appeals were made to the government, including formal correspondences sent in October 2025 and January 2026, urging immediate action. This led to the constitution of a review committee comprising representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), the JNC, and government officials.
While the committee has since completed its assignment and submitted its report, the council lamented that the state government has yet to respond or commence implementation.
Rising from the meeting, the JNC issued an ultimatum to the government to approve and implement the recommendations before the payment of April 2026 salaries. It warned that failure to meet this demand would result in a boycott of the 2026 May Day celebrations, replacing the event with a protest march.
The council further disclosed that a formal notice of strike action would follow, potentially leading to a full-scale industrial shutdown of the state civil service.
The JNC also expressed concern over the worsening economic conditions faced by workers, noting that although a ₦72,000 minimum wage had been approved, it has been eroded by inflation and rising costs of living, including food, rent, and transportation.
It pointed out that while the minimum wage was implemented for civil servants on Grade Levels 01 to 06, core civil servants on Grade Level 07 and above have yet to benefit from corresponding adjustments, leaving them at a disadvantage compared to their counterparts in other states where similar reforms have already been implemented.
The council warned that continued delay could deepen hardship among workers and disrupt public service delivery if urgent steps are not taken.
The statement was jointly signed by the JNC Kaduna State Chairman, Comrade Danjuma Yusuf, and Secretary, Musa Muhammed, who called on the government to act swiftly to avert an avoidable industrial crisis.
