The Federal Government and organized Labour are at odds over the government’s failure to maintain the payment of N35,000 salary awards to workers.
Workers in the Federal Civil Service told our correspondent in separate conversations on Monday that the Federal Government only paid the N35,000 pay award for September.
Following President Bola Tinubu’s elimination of the fuel subsidy upon his assumption of office, the Federal Government decided to give N35,000 to each of its workers to alleviate the suffering created by the subsidy removal.
The government indicated in a memo signed by the Chairman of the National Salaries, Wages, and Income Commission, Ekpo Nta, that the payment of the salary award will begin on September 1, 2023.
However, according to our correspondent’s findings, the government only paid the pay award for September.
A senior civil servant in one of the core ministries, departments and agencies said,
“The wage award was only paid once and I assume that was the one for September. Since then, we have not received another. We all are confused as there has been no official communication from the government as regards the matter. We are all confused at the moment.”
Another civil servant, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said,
“What you heard is true. We have not received anything else other than the initial wage award which was paid. The government cannot continue to let the citizens suffer. Our takehome salaries cannot even take us home any longer at this point.”
Also speaking with our correspondent, a civil servant in one of the Federal Government-owned schools in Abuja noted that the workers were only paid the wage award for one month.
“We only received for one month which I assume was for September. Though the peculiar allowance introduced by the former administration is still being paid alongside our salaries, we have not received any such thing as a wage award. The government needs to stop playing games with our emotions.”
The Head of information at the Nigeria Labour Congress, Benson Upah, in an interview with our correspondent said,
“This betrays the government’s dishonorable intentions and is completely unacceptable.”
When asked if the NLC would take action, he said,
“Certainly, the congress will do something about this but what it will do will be dependent on the appropriate organs of the congress. On communication with the government, sure, we will. It usually precedes our actions.”
But the spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Monday allayed fears of civil servants. Mokwa noted that plans were ongoing to ensure that civil servants receive their wage awards.
“The process is ongoing. They will be paid. The process to pay the wage awards has commenced.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has budgeted N1tn for minimum wage adjustments, promotion arrears and severance benefits for civil servants, an analysis of the 2024 appropriation budget released by the Budget Office of the Federation has revealed.
This is as the head of information of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Upah further explained to our correspondent that the congress would kick against any form of imposition of a new minimum wage by the Federal Government.
Upah told The PUNCH in Abuja that negotiations had yet to commence, but he expressed optimism that talks on the new minimum wage would start soon.
“No, not yet but soon, I suppose,” Upah said when asked if the congress had received notice for the commencement of negotiations surrounding the new minimum wage.
Upah said,
“ The national minimum wage law is a product of collective negotiation by all the critical stakeholders, workers, employers (plus private sector), and government. It cannot be fixed by fiat by any stakeholder. Thus, any unilateral action by any party will not only be presumptuous but contemptuous and injurious to other parties and will certainly be at variance with the law and principles governing this variant of minimum wage-setting procedure.”
(Credit: The Punch)