35% salary increase not minimum wage – labour clarifies

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has clarified that the 25 percent and 35 percent increase in workers’ salaries announced by the Federal Government is not the minimum wage.

The president of the association, Mr. Tommy Okon, made the clarification while fielding questions from newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.

Okon, who is also the Vice President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), said that the approval of the salary increase was to close the salary gap that existed in some ministries, departments, and agencies.

“Other sectors have benefitted from these increases; it is only the core Federal Civil Service. So, it is a good development, no doubt, but the people need to be informed.

“Some even saw it as if the government had ambushed the labour unions and then come out unilaterally to increase the minimum wage to that amount. Whereas, it is not the minimum wage.

“The minimum wage is ongoing; what the government did was to correct some gaps that existed among the pay of those in those sectors listed,” he said

Okon said the clarification was important for the generality of workers and the masses at large because the salary increase was to bridge the wage gap in the civil service.

Supreme News reports that the federal government on Tuesday announced an increase of between 25 percent and 35 percent in the salaries of civil servants on the remaining six consolidated salary structures.

They include the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), the Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS), and the Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS).

Others are the Consolidated Paramilitary Salary Structure (CONPASS), the Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure (CONICCS), and the Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS).