No celebration, just survival: Workers mark May Day amid broken promises, rising hardship
By Daylight
May 1, 2025
Nigerian workers
In this report our reporter exposes the outcry of Nigerian workers as they face crushing economic realities, stagnant wages, vanishing jobs, and blatant violations of their rights amid a system that continues to turn a blind eye to their struggles
As Nigerian workers join millions around the globe to commemorate International Workers’ Day on May 1, 2025 today the mood in the country is more sombre than celebratory.
Despite recent promises of reform, millions of workers across Nigeria continue to face low wages, mass layoffs, poor labour protections, and unsafe working conditions.
This year’s Workers’ Day theme“Reclaiming the Civic Space Amid Economic Hardship” powerfully reflects the mounting anger and urgent demands of a workforce battered by economic distress and chronic government indifference. Across states and industries, workers report a deepening crisis in their lives, marked by relentless inflation, precarious employment, and a brazen disregard for labour protections enshrined in law.
Wages eroded by inflation
A key flashpoint remains the implementation or lack thereof — of the N70,000 minimum wage signed into law by the federal government in 2024.
The increase pushed through after intense pressure from organised labour, was meant to cushion the impact of economic reforms and rising living costs.
But over a year later, a significant proportion of Nigerian workers have yet to receive the new wage.
According to BudgIT, only 13 states had implemented the N70,000 minimum wage as of April 2025. In rural areas, many public servants and civil service workers still earn less than N40,000 monthly. In the private sector, compliance is even more inconsistent, with many employers citing rising business costs as a reason for non-payment.
In March 2025, Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics reported a headline inflation rate of 33.2 per cent, with food inflation soaring to 40.01 per cent, exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis.
“I teach in a government primary school in Oyo State and still earn N33,000. The wage they promised has not arrived. Even food prices have doubled. What do they expect us to survive on?” a teacher and father of three, Adewale Johnson, said.
For many, the N70,000 wage where implemented already feels obsolete in the face of continued inflation, fuel subsidy removal, and rising electricity tariffs.
A February 2025 survey by SBM Intelligence found that 78 per cent of workers earning N70,000 or less said their wages could not sustain their monthly food and transportation needs.
Speaking with The PUNCH, the Former Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress, Comrade Oyinkansola Olasanoye, has declared that the struggle of Nigerian workers is far deeper than just the demand for higher wages, it is a battle for dignity, justice, and access to the basic social infrastructure every citizen deserves.
“First and foremost, we are Nigerians. “And like every other citizen, workers are being crushed by the weight of relentless economic hardship. This is not just about salaries—it is about survival. We need functional public hospitals, quality education, affordable housing, and a true system of social protection,” Olasanoye asserted.
She warned that any wage increase is hollow when workers must fend for themselves in every aspect of life.
“A raise means nothing if workers are still paying out-of-pocket for healthcare, struggling to educate their children, and scrambling daily just to survive. It is a vicious cycle that only entrenches poverty and deepens inequality,” she said.
“Our right to organize, protest, and demand justice is under siege. Union leaders are being blackmailed, public trust is eroding, and the growing economic crisis has silenced many voices. Reclaiming the civic space is not optional, it is essential for holding those in power accountable,” Olasanoye said.
She emphasised the importance of citizens taking ownership of the struggle for justice, adding that democracy cannot thrive where voices are silenced and civic participation is stifled.
Calling for solidarity with the new TUC leadership, she urged Nigerians to look beyond cynicism and stand united.
Olasanoye said, “The TUC is not passive, they are strategic. We must rally behind them if we hope to see real change.”
“This is not just a fight for union leaders, it is a national responsibility. Every Nigerian must rise. Together, we can reclaim our dignity and build the country we deserve,” she added.
Mass layoffs grip private sector
Beyond stagnant earnings, Nigerian workers are grappling with deepening job insecurity.
A report jointly published in January 2025 by the Nigerian Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress revealed that more than 500,000 formal jobs were lost in 2024 alone. The losses were attributed to economic downturns, exchange rate instability, and shrinking consumer demand.
Affected sectors include manufacturing, oil and gas, fintech, banking, and logistics.
An HR manager at a Lagos-based manufacturing firm, Chinyere Ofor, said, “In 2024, we had 120 staff. Today, we are down to 35. We had to lay off even skilled technicians. Operating costs went up 300 per cent in less than two years.”
Also, Lagos State chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Funmi Sessi, said, “Amid mounting economic hardship across the country, a strong call has been made to all levels of government to urgently implement impactful interventions that will ease the suffering of Nigerians.”
She expressed deep concern over the rising cost of living, deteriorating public services, and the lack of effective government action.
“This year, we have witnessed hardship in the civic space like never before. “Are we talking about accommodation, transportation, healthcare, education, or even feeding? Prices keep rising, and nothing is being done to ease the pain,’she said.
Sessi noted that successive governments have eroded Nigeria’s pride through years of maladministration.
“We have been stripped of our glory as a nation. Leadership failure over the years has pushed Nigerians into untold hardship, and sadly, this current administration has yet to bring in policies that truly lift people out of poverty,” she said.
The NLC Lagos Chapter chair called on leaders at all levels, federal, state, and local to recognise the urgency of the situation.
“The suffering is too much. Nigerians are groaning. Workers are tired. Government must do the needful and intervene with immediate and practical policies that will impact lives positively.”
“Let’s be honest with ourselves, some of us are also architects of our hardship. When you sell something worth five naira for fifteen, you are making life worse for fellow Nigerians. We shouldn’t do that to each other,” she mentioned.
She urged Nigerians to support one another, contribute to national development, and take ownership of security in their communities.
According to her, a tree cannot make a forest. We all have a role to play. When we give our best at work, when we create wealth, when we train our children well, we are helping this country. Security is not just the government’s job, it is everyone’s responsibility.
“Let us lead by good example. Let us restore hope, not curse the country. Only then can Nigerians truly begin to see a seed of relief,” Sessi noted.
The ILO’s 2024 report on Africa’s labour market found that more than 65 per cent of Nigeria’s workers are in precarious employment, a figure that continues to grow.
Experts warn that Nigeria’s current labour legislation is ill-equipped to handle modern workforce dynamics. The Labour Act of 2004, which governs employment contracts and worker protections, remains outdated and is poorly enforced.
A labour rights analyst, Dr Kehinde Omotosho, said, “There is almost no deterrent for companies that flout labour laws. Many workers can’t afford to sue, and the Ministry of Labour lacks enforcement capacity.”
The National Industrial Court is clogged with unresolved labour disputes, some dating back years. Even when the court rules in favour of workers, enforcement of judgments is sluggish or nonexistent.
The Centre for Labour Studies found in 2023 that only 28 per cent of surveyed Nigerian workers had signed employment contracts. In many cases, terms of employment are communicated verbally, a practice that increases vulnerability to exploitation.
Unpaid pensions, others
While Nigerian workers worry about surviving their working years, the future looks equally bleak for retirees. As of Q4 2024, over N15bn in pension arrears were owed by public and private employers, according to the National Pension Commission.
“I retired in 2021 as a local government health officer in Bauchi. “I still haven’t received a dime of my pension. The files are ‘processing’ they say,” Bashir Musa, 63 years said.
Although Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme mandates regular remittances from both employers and workers, compliance is erratic. In the private sector, many SMEs evade contributions altogether.
The story is not different for informal workers, many of whom are excluded from pension protections. PenCom’s flagship Micro Pension Plan, launched to address this, had enrolled only about 100,000 informal workers by early 2025, a drop in the ocean compared to the estimated 40 million informal labourers in Nigeria.
Gender disparity
In a patriarchal labour market, women continue to earn less and face more risks.
A 2024 study by the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre found that Nigerian women earn 25 per cent less than men for the same roles, particularly in finance, healthcare, and education.
The study also reported widespread sexual harassment at the workplace, with 38 per cent of female workers admitting to experiencing inappropriate conduct. Few report the abuse, fearing retaliation or job loss.
Maternity protections are routinely flouted in the private sector. While Nigerian law provides for 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, many women are laid off soon after childbirth or denied promotions.
Also, occupational safety is another blind spot. In the past year, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund recorded over 7,800 workplace injuries and 212 deaths, primarily in construction, oil exploration, and mining.
In January 2025, a building collapse in Port Harcourt claimed five lives. Investigations showed that the workers lacked protective gear, insurance, or formal contracts.
“There is no accountability. If someone dies, they find another worker the next day. No one pays for it,” a construction labourer in Mile 12, Lagos said.
Also, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Lagos State Chapter, Comrade Gbenga Ekundayo, said the theme of this year’s labour gathering “Reclaiming the Civic Space” was inspired by the deepening economic hardship across the country, caused largely by government policies that continue to favour the elite at the expense of the masses.
Ekundayo said, “You can’t claim to reset the economy while the common man suffers and the political elite continue to live lavishly. The civic space must be a level playing field, not a place where the poor are suffocating and the rich are thriving even more.”
He stressed that hardship has become unbearable for average Nigerians, and the wide gap between the rich and the poor is now dangerous.
“You cannot have someone buying a car for N200 million and paying the same license fee as someone with a car worth N3 million. That is not fair. That is a broken system,” he said.
Ekundayo also decried the lack of social security in the country and called for urgent reform.
“You cannot have security in a nation where people are hungry, homeless, and hopeless. Until the economy begins to work for the man on the street, insecurity will persist,” he warned.
He called on both government and religious institutions to show more responsibility.
“What are we building cathedrals for when people are sleeping under bridges? Why throw lavish parties and waste food while millions go hungry?”
On the national minimum wage, Ekundayo was clear: “We need a living wage, not a symbolic one. N70,000 is not too much in the face of this poverty. The time to reclaim Nigeria’s civic and economic space is now.”
Informal workers marginalised
Over 85 per cent of Nigeria’s labour force operates in the informal sector from market women to mechanics and street vendors. Most are without any safety nets or employment protection.
Following fuel subsidy removal in 2024, petrol prices range between N925 and N950 per litre, pushing up transport and food costs. Many informal workers say they now earn less than they spend daily.
“I cannot afford to rest for a day. I am spending more to buy fuel and this affected my income. If my tyre bursts, that is a week’s income gone,” Kunle, a tricycle rider in Isolo said.
In a message ahead of May Day, the International Trade Union Confederation General Secretary, Luc Triangle, said, “Around the world, workers are being denied the basics of life like well-funded hospitals and schools, living wages and freedom to move, while billionaires pocket record profits and unimaginable power.
“A system built for the 0.0001 per cent is rigged against the rest of us but workers around the world are standing up and organising to take back democracy.”
“Workers are demanding a New Social Contract that works for them not the billionaires undermining democracy. Fair taxation, strong public services, living wages and a just transition are not radical demands, they are the foundation of a just society,” Triangle added.
Shrinking union power
Nigeria’s once-powerful labour unions now operate in a more hostile environment. In November 2024, a planned nationwide strike by the NLC over unpaid wages was quashed after the government secured a court injunction and deployed police to disrupt planned rallies.
Union membership is shrinking by 18 per cent over five years, according to the African Labour Observatory due to internal rifts, legal bottlenecks, and growing distrust.
“We are under attack. Many union leaders face threats, surveillance, and bogus charges for simply defending worker rights,” NLC Vice President, Benjamin Adeyemi, said.
Despite bleak conditions, some reforms are on the horizon. In December 2024, the Federal Ministry of Labour launched a “Decent Work Nigeria” initiative with ILO support to improve inspections and strengthen workplace protections.
Also pending before the National Assembly is a new Labour Reform Bill to update outdated provisions, enforce employer accountability, and formalize informal labour.
Still, labour groups warn that real change will only come when implementation is taken seriously.
“We have beautiful laws and terrible enforcement. On paper, workers are protected and guaranteed fair wages, safe working conditions, and job security. But in reality, these laws are ignored. Until the government stops paying lip service and begins to enforce wage regulations and occupational safety standards genuinely, Nigerian workers will continue to suffer and die in poverty,” TUC Secretary-General, Nuhu Bello, said.
The President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Comrade Shehu Mohammed, in a signed statement said, “As we commemorate the 2025 May Day alongside millions of workers across the globe, we call on our dedicated members to renew their trust in the National Leadership.
“Let me assure you that we are actively repositioning the Union to better champion critical welfare issues affecting our members nationwide. These include the settlement of salary, promotion, and elongation arrears; payment of the first 28 days allowance in lieu of hotel accommodation; restoration of gratuity for public servants; and the urgent need to create vacancies to tackle stagnation, particularly at the Directorate level.”
“Our commitment remains firm, we will not relent until these pressing demands are addressed,” Mohammed added.
Nation at crossroads
As Nigerian workers march on May Day 2025, their chants echo not just through streets but across policy chambers and boardrooms: Fair pay. Job security. Retirement dignity. These are not luxury demands, but fundamental rights.
With over 30 million Nigerians unemployed or underemployed and millions more trapped in informal or insecure work, the country faces a labour crisis that could fuel deeper social instability.
Only a committed national effort spanning government, private sector, civil society, and workers themselves can begin to fix what is broken.
Until then, for many Nigerian workers, May Day will remain not a celebration, but a call for justice. Punch
