The Trade Union Congress has issued a stern warning to the Federal Government, urging immediate action on the payment of the ₦35,000 wage award to all federal civil servants. This award was agreed upon during a meeting convened after the removal of the fuel subsidy.
TUC President, Festus Osifo, delivered this warning during a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, following an emergency National Executive Council meeting. Osifo expressed concern that, contrary to the agreement, federal civil servants had received only a single payment for September, and only a limited number had been paid for the second time.
Drawing attention to the current economic challenges faced by workers due to the removal of the fuel subsidy, Osifo extended the warning to the 36 state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. He urged them to take immediate measures to alleviate the plight of workers and prevent a potential crisis in the country.
Osifo emphasized, “On the issue of the wage award, it is on record that the payment has been made just once for September, but as it is now, our members in the federal civil service have not been paid the ₦35,000 wage award since October. We wish to call on the government to fast track all the payments now. We learned that they’re putting some things in place to ensure the payment, but people are not ready to listen to excuses.”
He continued, “We demand that they immediately pay this ₦35,000 wage award to the bank accounts of the federal civil servants without excuses. 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 belt and they (government officials) are living in affluence is not acceptable.”
Further details will be provided soon.
