Ekpo Nta, the Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC), provided clarity on the implementation timeline for the new minimum wage during a press briefing in Abuja. Nta stated that the new wage structure would take effect from July 29, 2024, the date President Bola Tinubu approved the bill after its passage by the National Assembly. This announcement contradicts an earlier statement by the Minister of State for Labour, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, who had indicated that the new wage would be implemented starting May 1, 2024.
As a result, if payments begin by the end of October 2024, only two months of arrears will be issued. The Federal Government also confirmed the approval of revisions to the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure and other related structures. The Committee on Consequential Adjustments in Salaries for civil servants met last week and agreed that the official implementation of the new minimum wage would begin on July 29, 2024. The committee recommended that the previously discontinued wage award should be reinstated up until July 28, 2024.
Despite these developments, labour unions have expressed dissatisfaction with the delay. Benson Upah, Head of Information at the Nigerian Labour Congress, called the decision “unacceptable,” criticizing the backdating to July. Similarly, Timmy Etim, National Vice President of the Trade Union Congress, condemned the delay, pointing out that the initial promise of a May 2024 implementation date had raised workers’ expectations.
In response, NSIWC Chairman Ekpo Nta defended the government’s actions, explaining that the July 29, 2024, start date aligns with when the President signed the bill into law. He urged federal public service entities to coordinate with the NSIWC to avoid disrupting salary structures and announced that further directives would be provided on how pensioners, NYSC members, and interns would benefit from the new wage.
The revised salary structures include updates to the Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure, Consolidated Universities Academic Salary Structure, and the Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure II, among others. The changes will also impact the pay scales for polytechnics, colleges of education, medical staff, health workers, paramilitary services, police, intelligence agencies, and the armed forces.
Nta concluded by referencing the NSIWC Amendment Act 2024 and the Memorandum of Understanding reached between the Federal Government and the Trade Union sides of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council on September 20, 2024, regarding the consequential adjustments from the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act.
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