The Nigerian government has said it will backdate the payment of new minimum wage to civil servants in the country.
The committee responsible for adjusting the salaries of civil servants reached an agreement to implement the new minimum wage starting from July 29, 2024.
This was confirmed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) obtained after the committee’s meeting in Abuja.
According to the MoU: “The NSIWC will generate the appropriate salary templates for other consolidated salary structures for implementation; the effective date of the implementation shall be July 29, 2024.”
The committee, made up of 16 members, was set up by the Federal Government following the National Minimum Wage Act 2024, which increased the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.
Their responsibilities include negotiating salary adjustments and developing a template for the rollout of the new wage structure.
But the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have strongly criticized the Federal Government’s decision to backdate the implementation of the new minimum wage to July 2024.
DAILY GIST recalls that President Bola Tinubu had approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for workers in the country.
However, in response, the Head of Information for the NLC, Benson Upah, dismissed the decision, saying, “The backdating to July is not fair. It is not acceptable.”
Similarly, the National Vice President of the TUC, Timmy Etim, expressed disappointment, noting that workers were initially told by the Minister of State for Labour, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, during May Day celebrations that the new wage would take effect in May.
The NLC said it would meet with the federal government on how workers could survive the recent hike in the pump price of petrol.
The union stated that the current price of petrol has eroded the gains of the yet-to-be implemented N70,000 new national minimum wage.
According to NLC President, Joe Ajaero, the federal government’s decision to hike fuel price has rendered the new minimum wage useless.
