Public service workers across Nigeria have begun a three-day warning strike over economic hardship and rising living costs.
The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council directed workers at the federal, state and local government levels to join the strike.
The action began at midnight on Friday, October 2, 2026. Meanwhile, the strike will end on Sunday, October 4.
The council also directed its national and state structures to mobilise workers across the country.
The council said the strike followed the Federal Government’s failure to address its demands.
Earlier, the workers sent a letter to President Bola Tinubu on September 21. They asked the government to take urgent steps to reduce the economic pressure on workers and their families.
According to the council, the rising cost of living has made life increasingly difficult for public servants.
Therefore, the workers want the government to respond to their concerns through immediate measures.
Lower petrol prices remain one of the workers’ key demands.
The council called for petrol to sell at N500 per litre. It said high fuel prices have increased transportation costs and placed additional pressure on household budgets.
As a result, higher transport costs have also affected the prices of food and other essential goods.
The workers therefore want the government to take steps to reduce these pressures.
In addition, the workers are demanding an immediate wage award.
They argue that extra financial support would help workers cope with rising living costs.
Meanwhile, households continue to face higher expenses for food, transport and other basic needs.
The council wants the government to respond quickly to these financial challenges.
The council has also called for negotiations on a new national minimum wage.
It wants the government, labour unions and employers to begin discussions ahead of 2027.
Accordingly, the proposed negotiations would consider workers’ earnings and changes in the cost of living.
For public servants, however, the issue goes beyond the size of their salaries. It also concerns the purchasing power of those salaries.
The three-day warning strike is aimed at pushing the government to address the workers’ demands.
The council directed its affiliated unions and public servants across the three levels of government to comply.
As a result, the action could affect public services in several parts of the country during the three-day period.
However, the council’s demands also place renewed attention on the wider cost-of-living pressures facing Nigerian households.
For many workers, the central concern remains the gap between their income and the rising cost of basic needs.
The latest development could therefore increase pressure on the government and labour representatives to return to negotiations and seek solutions to the workers’ concerns.
