By Abiola Olawale
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has strongly rejected the decision of the Federal Government to increase the salaries of civil servants by 35%.
This is as the union’s president described the action of the government as mischievous.
According to Ajaero, the government should instead work on giving the Nigerian workers a living wage that would cater to their needs.
He said that organised labor has resolved that N615,000 is the suitable living wage for civil servants in Nigeria.
Fielding questions from journalists Wednesday, May 1, 2024, Ajero, gave a breakdown of the proposed minimum wage, saying only N615,000 would cover things such as transportation, feeding, hospital, electricity, and education, among other bills of the average Nigerian worker.
He said: “I think the announcement (federal government’s salary increases to civil servants) now appears mischievous because there is no wage increase that the government is announcing. For them to announce it now, is an issue that we are worried about at the NLC and even at the TUC.
“Living wage is such that will, at the least, keep you alive. It is not a wage that will make you poorer and poorer. It is not a wage that will make you borrow to go to work. It is not a wage that will lead you to be in the hospital every day because of malnutrition.
“For that living wage, we have tried to look at N615,000. Let me give you a breakdown of how we arrived at that figure.
“We have housing and accommodation of N40,000. We asked for electricity of N20,000 — of course, that was before the current tariff increase. Nobody can spend this amount currently.
“We have a utility that is about N10,000. We looked at kerosene and gas, which is about N25,000 to N35,000.
“We looked at food for a family of six, that is about N9,000 in a day. For 30 days, that is about N270,000. Look at medical, N50,000 provided there (means there) will be no surgery or whatever.
“For clothing, we looked at N20,000. For education, N50,000. I don’t know those who tried to put their children in private schools if they will not be able to cope with this amount. We also have sanitation of N10,000.
“I think where we have another bulk of the money is transportation. This is because the workers stay on the fringes and because of the cost of PMS, which amounted to N110,000.”
The New Diplomat reports that on Tuesday, April 30, the federal government approved an increase in salaries across various salary structures in a move aimed at boosting the welfare of civil servants.
The increase, ranging between 25% and 35%, will apply to personnel on the six remaining Consolidated Salary Structures.
These salary structures include the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS); Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS); Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS); Consolidated Para-military Salary Structure (CONPASS); Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure (CONICCS); and Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS).
