TUC To FG: No Excuse, Pay Workers N35,000 Provisional Wage

President of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Fstus Usifo has demanded the immediate payment of the N35,000 provisional wage promised civil servants by the federal government.

He said the workers could no longer wait for the wage to be paid because things are very hard in the country.

Osifo spoke on Tuesday while addressing journalists at the end of the congress’ emergency National Executive Council, NEC, meeting, saying TUC members have not received the wage since October.

Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had made the promise to pay federal government workers the wage as part of his government’s efforts to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.

The promise was also made after the workers said they would embark on strike to press home their demands for the government to intervene vis a vis the economic hardship resulting from the removal of petrol subsidy in May this year.

The TUC President however said his members have not been paid the wage since October, stressing that the government should not no longer delay the payment.

All the modalities to pay the wage must be put in place immediately, he said.

According to him, “We learned that they are currently putting some things in place to pay this money. But people are not ready to listen to excuses. All we want is that this money be paid into the accounts of our members until the new minimum wage is put in place.

He said, “We want the government to tighten their belts, governments at all levels, the Federal Government, the state, and local governments because a situation where they are asking Nigerians to keep tightening their belts and they (government officials) are living in affluence is not acceptable.”

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Ekpo U. O. Nta said in a memo two months ago that President Tinubu has approved N35, 000 provisional wage for federal civil servants, with effect from September 1, 2023.

The memo reads; “I refer to the Memorandum of Understanding reached between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Monday, 2 October 2023 as a result of the dispute arising from withdrawal of subsidy on the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) and hereby convey the approval of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the grant of a wage award of N35,000:00 (thirty-five thousand Naira) only per month to all Federal Government workers with effect from 1 September 2023 pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.”

The federal government said the payment will last for six months.