The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has criticised the Federal Government over the delay in the payment of the minimum wage for certain workers in the federal civil service.
The Federal Government had earlier blamed the delay in payment on the prolonged approval of the 2025 budget.
Civil servants who spoke to Sunday PUNCH in Abuja expressed frustration over the delay and urged the government to take decisive action. Some civil servants revealed that they have been forced to resort to loans due to the non-payment of the minimum wage.
A worker at the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH on the condition of anonymity due to Public Service Rules that prevent civil servants from speaking to the press, said, ‘Initially, a flat rate of N40,000 was added to our salaries. In February, it was stopped, and now we are still waiting for the new wages to be paid. This is unfair. The cost of transportation is rising with no hope for workers. We need the NLC and TUC to fight for us’.
Another civil servant in the Ministry of Defence said, ‘I owe loan apps. We look forward to the so-called arrears and minimum wage payments every day. Everywhere has gone silent; no one is saying anything’.
The spokesperson for the NLC, Benson Upah, said that the union would respond in due course.
‘It is totally unacceptable, and no explanation is sufficient for this callous indifference. I assure you that there will be an appropriate response’, he said.
President Bola Tinubu signed the N70,000 minimum wage into law on 18 July 2024, after about two months of protracted negotiations among the tripartite committee members.
