State govs playing politics with minimum wage, civil servants allege

Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has alleged that many state governors are handling the implementation of the N70,000 new national minimum wage as a political matter.

National President of ASCSN, Shehu Muhammed, made the allegation, yesterday, in Lagos, when he spoke with journalists during the association’s close-of-year engagement.

He said governors, who claimed to pay above the Federal Government-approved N70,000, were playing politics, saying they hardly could find any worker on level one in most government agencies and in the private sector.

He said: “Even the drivers and cleaners have crossed a ramp, maybe level five and above. So if you are saying you are going to pay N70,000 or N85,000 to where there is nobody on that level, that is just politics. So, that is what the governors have been doing.

“And then some that even decided to pay have paid based not considering what was the outcome of the consequential adjustment issue. Because in terms of paying N70,000, there must be a gradual increase across the board, up to the last level, that is level 17. So, it is not just to pay N70,000 but implementing it, using the consequential adjustments. If you look at the table, you will realise that for somebody from level 10 and above, nothing goes to him except an increase of about N1,000 or N2,000, which is against the real vision of the national minimum wage.”

Muhammed said the association’s position would still stand on workers receiving a living wage, considering the current economic realities. He said before the next minimum wage negotiation, the association would have articulated its position for a living wage for Nigerian workers.

“We have already set the ball rolling. We have given all our organs, the states and the units at the federal level, the assignment to go back to their respective units, discuss with members, and then assess what is going to be a minimum wage come the next minimum wage negotiation season,” he said.