- The newly elected president of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) threatened states that failed to implement the new minimum wage
- Shehu Muhammed said improving members' take-home pay would be his top priority
- Joshua Apebo, the ASCSN secretary-general, emphasised that the new wage would significantly boost the purchasing power of many Nigerians, energise the economy
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has issued a warning that it would halt the activities of any state that fails to implement the N70,000 national minimum wage.
Shehu Muhammed, the former ASCSN Kaduna branch chairman, who is the newly elected president of the association made the threat on Monday, August 12 at the association’s 5th Quadrennial Delegates Conference held in Lagos.
He said, “For states not ready to implement the new minimum wage, let me tell you categorically, it is impossible. We are coming for them.”
Priority should be on resolving new minimum wage
The new ASCSN President emphasised that the primary focus should be on resolving the new minimum wage issue by establishing a committee to handle the implementation adjustments and to create strategies for ensuring a living wage for workers in Nigeria.
“The full implementation of the new national minimum wage and its consequential adjustments at both the federal and the 36 states of the federation will be the top priority of Organised Labour,” Muhammed stated.
States could accomplish minimum wage by cutting down waste
He called on state governments to adopt the new wage to boost the standard of living for their citizens, noting that state revenues have increased due to higher allocations from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Muhammed recommended that states could accomplish this by cutting down on waste and closing gaps in government funding, and he advised adopting a policy to align income with inflation rates.
Muhammed emphasised improving workers’ pay
Muhammed further said improving members' take-home pay would be his top priority.
“A worker today in Nigeria has a minimum burden of two to four dependants; so, in providing an improved welfare package, at least, based on our agitation, we are requiring a living wage to take care of the worker.
“That will go a long way in addressing the hunger issue that teeming youths are protesting against,” Muhammed stated.
New minimum wage would boost the economy - Joshua Apebo
Joshua Apebo, the ASCSN secretary-general, stated that the new wage would significantly boost the purchasing power of many Nigerians and, as a result, energise the economy.
He further said, “It is equally important that consequential adjustment should be done as is normally the practice so that no grade level of workers will be short-changed.
“We also wish to advise that the government should embrace the policy of indexing income to correspond with the rate of inflation as recommended years ago by a committee,” Joshua Apebo stated.
“70k is an insult, can’t buy bag of rice”: Nigerians lament new minimum wage
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that Nigerians have bitterly lamented about the N70,000 approved by President Bola Tinubu as the new minimum wage.
Nigerians compared the new minimum wage with the previous ones, and expressed their dissatisfaction. The report compiled reactions from netizens.