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BREAKING: FG Begins New Minimum Wage Payments For Workers

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3 months ago

Sep 26, 2024.

Federal government employees will start receiving the new minimum wage payment on Thursday, September 26th. Bawa Mokwa, the Spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, confirmed that federal employees can expect notifications regarding their updated minimum wage salary payments from today.

However, Mokwa did not specify whether the new minimum wage would be disbursed along with any outstanding arrears.

“Federal Government civil servants will start receiving the new minimum wage from today (Thursday) this September 2024. I can confirm that the minimum wage salary payment is being processed today, but I am not sure about the arrears,” he stated in an interview with Daily Post.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that this announcement follows confirmation from Ekpo Nta, Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission, regarding the government’s endorsement of an increase in the consolidated public service salary structure, known as CONPSS, in line with the Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act of 2024. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a new minimum wage of ₦70,000 on July 18, 2024, which was subsequently enacted into law by the Senate.

Earlier, the Federal Government, through the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC), had announced that the payment of the revised minimum wage would officially begin in July 2024, as disclosed by NSIWC Chairman Ekpo Nta during a press briefing in Abuja.

Nta explained that the start date aligned with the President’s signing of the minimum wage bill into law after its passage by the National Assembly.

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This announcement contradicts an earlier claim by Minister of State for Labour, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, who stated that the new wage would take effect from May 1, 2024. The new decision means that if disbursement begins at the end of October, only two months of arrears will be paid.

Additionally, the approval of the revision of the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure, along with other salary frameworks for federal workers, was confirmed.

Last week, the Committee on Consequential Adjustments in Salaries for civil servants met to discuss the new minimum wage structure, agreeing to backdate the implementation to July 29, 2024.

Led by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, the committee also recommended that the previously discontinued wage award be paid up until July 28, 2024.

The government reportedly took the current economic situation into account when reaching these conclusions. However, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the decision to backdate the wage to July, with NLC’s Head of Information, Benson Upah, calling it “unfair and unacceptable.”

Similarly, Timmy Etim, the National Vice President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), criticized the decision, referencing Onyejeocha’s earlier promise that the wage would take effect in May.

During the press briefing, Nta addressed these concerns, clarifying that the minimum wage would take effect from July 29, 2024, as this was the date the President officially approved the bill.