Gombe govt approves N71,500 minimum wage for workers

The Gombe government has approved N71,500 minimum wage for civil servants in the state, effective from October.

Mr Yusuf Aish-Bello, Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Gombe State chapter, stated this shortly after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the new National Minimum Wage.

The agreement was sealed between the organised labour and the state government on Monday in Gombe.

Aish-Bello said that a worker on GL01/1 would be receiving N71,551 minimum pay in the state.

“Today, we have reached an agreement on what will be paid to civil servants in the state.

“It has been agreed that the minimum standard of paying in Gombe State will be N71,551.15, that is for Grade Level 1, step 1

“You know the salary structure has its own intricacies; the N18,000 and N30,000 are nothing to write home about.

“Most especially on the issue of basics, that was our focus as it forms what you get when you retire.

“The highest quantum will be on the basic for our civil servants, especially for those retiring, and we have achieved over 60 percent.

“Level one will have a basic of N42,000, and this descends in consequential adjustment on the basic. The more it’s going up, the amount comes down by consequential adjustment.

“What is left now is 40 percent, which is spread on the allowances there as the minimum wage; that was how we arrived at N71,551,“ he said.

On nonpayment ofarrears, he said the state government implemented N10,000 palliative to the workers since September 2023, adding that the labour unions considered the gesture.

Earlier, the state deputy governor, Mr. Manassah Jatau, who is the Chairman of the Gombe State Minimum Wage Committee, said the government had sealed an agreement with labour union leaders.

Jatau said the new minimum wage would be paid in October, adding the state government was committed to the welfare of its workers.