[Nigeria] Up to 35% pay rise for civil service workers

The Nigerian government has raised salaries for civil servants by between 25 per cent and 35 per cent to help offset the rising cost of living, BBC News reports.

The lowest-paid government employee will now earn £258 a year, according to reporting from Reuters.

The pay rises will reportedly be backdated to January, police and military officers are among the workers who will benefit from the increase.

The announcement came on the eve of Nigeria's Workers' Day holiday.

The nation’s inflation rate currently stands at more than 30 per cent; the highest figure in nearly three decades.

The latest National Bureau of Statistics data shows that the cost of food has risen above that - by 35 per cent. The pay hikes will mean salaries for civil servants remain roughly the same, in real terms.

Pensions for eligible workers were also increased by between 20 per cent and 28 per cent, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) said.

These pay rises follow the government's recent bump of academic staff members and healthcare workers’ salaries.

The monthly minimum wage - set by the government and required to be observed by all employers - hasn’t changed since 2019, when it was put at 30,000 naira. It is now worth just £15 after a dramatic drop in the value of the naira over recent months.

Trade union umbrella group, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), reportedly welcomed the latest pay increase but urged the government to ensure that it was reflective of the harsh economic situation in the country.

"These categories of workers are already in the privileged sector but we expect it to be extended also to other categories of civil servants who are in lower cadre and are vulnerable," NLC spokesman Comrade Benson Upah told local press.

Negotiations continue between the government and the main labour unions about a minimum wage increase.

Food prices have doubled in many parts of the country since the removal of a fuel subsidy last year, on top of the spiking prices of goods and services

Source: BBC News

(Quote via original reporting)

The Nigerian government has raised salaries for civil servants by between 25 per cent and 35 per cent to help offset the rising cost of living, BBC News reports.

The lowest-paid government employee will now earn £258 a year, according to reporting from Reuters.

The pay rises will reportedly be backdated to January, police and military officers are among the workers who will benefit from the increase.

The announcement came on the eve of Nigeria's Workers' Day holiday.

The nation’s inflation rate currently stands at more than 30 per cent; the highest figure in nearly three decades.

The latest National Bureau of Statistics data shows that the cost of food has risen above that - by 35 per cent. The pay hikes will mean salaries for civil servants remain roughly the same, in real terms.

Pensions for eligible workers were also increased by between 20 per cent and 28 per cent, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) said.

These pay rises follow the government's recent bump of academic staff members and healthcare workers’ salaries.

The monthly minimum wage - set by the government and required to be observed by all employers - hasn’t changed since 2019, when it was put at 30,000 naira. It is now worth just £15 after a dramatic drop in the value of the naira over recent months.

Trade union umbrella group, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), reportedly welcomed the latest pay increase but urged the government to ensure that it was reflective of the harsh economic situation in the country.

"These categories of workers are already in the privileged sector but we expect it to be extended also to other categories of civil servants who are in lower cadre and are vulnerable," NLC spokesman Comrade Benson Upah told local press.

Negotiations continue between the government and the main labour unions about a minimum wage increase.

Food prices have doubled in many parts of the country since the removal of a fuel subsidy last year, on top of the spiking prices of goods and services

Source: BBC News

(Quote via original reporting)