On Thursday, Nigerian workers confirmed that they have started receiving the newly approved minimum wage from the Federal Government. This development was confirmed by spokespersons from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Benson Upah, representing the NLC, and Tommy Etim, Deputy President of the TUC, both made statements urging other organizations to follow the government’s example by implementing the new wage. “We encourage other entities to follow suit,” Upah remarked, while Etim emphasized that a template had already been released by the government for the wage adjustments.
In addition, a civil servant from the Office of the Head of Civil Service, who preferred to remain anonymous, mentioned receiving the new wage in their September payment. According to sources, federal workers saw an increase of N40,000 in their salaries due to the new wage structure.
The implementation affects over 1.2 million federal employees, following President Bola Tinubu’s approval of the N70,000 minimum wage on July 18, 2024. This marks a significant increase from the previous N30,000 minimum wage. The approval was passed into law by the Senate, aligning with the upward review of the public service salary structure.
However, this pay raise comes as the country faces a sharp rise in inflation, with both headline and food inflation rates soaring to 32.15% and 37.52% respectively as of August 2024.
