Nigerian workers have confirmed receiving the Federal Government’s new minimum wage payment. Benson Upah, spokesperson for the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and Tommy Etim, Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), revealed this in separate statements on Thursday.
The confirmation follows in the news that the government had commenced payment of the new N70,000 minimum wage.Upah called on other entities to follow the Federal Government’s example, saying,
“We ask other entities to emulate this.” Likewise, Etim noted that the government’s committee on consequential adjustments had already provided a template, leaving no justification for delaying the payment of the new wage.
“We now advise all other parties to follow suit and start the payment of the new minimum wage,” he added.
A civil servant from the Office of the Head of Civil Service, who wished to remain anonymous, also confirmed receiving the new minimum wage for September 2024, saying, “I got an alert around 2 pm on Thursday.
I hope the arrears will be paid soon.” Some workers disclosed that they received an additional N40,000 on top of their previous salary as part of the consequential adjustment.
This development means that over 1.2 million federal workers have begun receiving the revised minimum wage. Earlier in the week, Ekpo Nta, Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission, confirmed the government’s approval of an upward review of the consolidated public service salary structure (CONPSS) in line with the 2024 Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act.
This followed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of the N70,000 minimum wage on July 18, 2024.
The Senate had passed the new minimum wage bill into law, doubling the previous N30,000 wage set during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
However, the wage increase comes amid soaring inflation, with headline and food inflation reaching 32.15% and 37.52%, respectively, in August 2024.
