- Sets middle of August commencement date
- Organised Labour demands fast action on workers’ complaints
BY COBHAM NSA – The Federal Government has yielded to mounting pressure from the Labour Movement demanding the immediate release of overdue N35,000 monthly wage award arrears to civil servants to avoid a nationwide strike, assuring that payment of the outstanding wage award will commence before the middle of August.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, who gave the assurance at an emergency meeting on Wednesday with the leadership of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), Trade Side, led by its National President, Comrade Kabiru Ado Minjibir, also said outstanding promotion arrears are being processed as part of efforts to fulfill government’s commitments to its workforce.
According to a statement by the ministry, the government had already begun addressing many of the issues raised by the council before receiving its formal communication, assuring necessary approvals for the payment of the outstanding wage award are being finalised.
The Minister expressed confidence that eligible public servants would begin receiving the payments before mid-August, saying: “When government makes commitments, it delivers. We are not in the habit of making promises that cannot be fulfilled. Where there are outstanding issues, we will give realistic timelines and ensure they are implemented.”
He disclosed that promotion arrears were also receiving the required attention, with outstanding batches being processed in line with established procedures and directed relevant officials to immediately review documents submitted by the JPSNC, work with concerned Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and accelerate action on all outstanding labour-related issues requiring government intervention.
While acknowledging concerns expressed by organised labour over delays in implementing some agreements, the Minister said the Federal Government would continue to strengthen trust through transparency, regular engagement and prompt action, assuring that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration remains committed to resolving legitimate labour concerns through constructive engagement.
Speaking earlier at the meeting, National President of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), Comrade Kabiru Ado Minjibir, urged the government to expedite action in clearing a backlog of critical workers’ grievances, such as immediate release outstanding wage awards, settlement of unpaid promotion arrears, and addressing deep salary disparities crippling the nation’s health sector.
JPSNC National President, Comrade Kabiru Ado Minjibir, urged the government to expedite the resolution of pending labour issues, including the outstanding wage award, promotion arrears, salary relativity concerns affecting health workers and other welfare matters.
He noted that the timely implementation of the outstanding commitments would further promote industrial harmony and reinforce workers’ confidence in the government’s commitment to their welfare.
Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Raymond Omachi, reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to working closely with organised labour to ensure approved workers’ entitlements are processed and released without unnecessary delays.
He said the Ministry would continue collaborating with relevant government institutions to fast-track the resolution of outstanding labour issues, stressing that constructive dialogue remains key to sustaining industrial harmony.
In his intervention, the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Mohammed Sanusi Danjuma, said Batch 7 promotion arrears, inadvertently omitted during an earlier payment exercise, are now being processed alongside Batch 9, and expressed confidence that beneficiaries would begin receiving the payments once processing is completed.
Furthermore, he said the government is also working to resolve issues relating to the Peculiar Allowance and other outstanding labour matters in collaboration with relevant MDAs.
Also confirming that the government is in the final stages of releasing the outstanding wage award, Director of Cash Management at the Finance Ministry, Christiana Osho, said financial reconciliation has been fully completed and eligible civil servants will soon receive their funds, while the processing of promotion arrears moves forward on track.
