The federal government has approved a 25–35 percent increase in pay for civil servants, members of the armed forces, and police officers.
The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) made this announcement on Tuesday. It stated that the pay increase will be implemented on January 1, 2024.
The NSIWC said that the authorised wage increase of 25 to 35 percent was for civil servants on the remaining six consolidated compensation structures in a statement released by its Head of Press, Emmanuel Njoku.
The commission said, “The Federal Government has approved an increase of between 25 per cent and 35 percent in salary for civil servants on the remaining six consolidated salary structures.”
It outlined the structures to include the “Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure, the consolidated research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure Consolidated Police Salary Structure, Consolidated Para-military Salary Structure, Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure, and Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure.”
Recall that those in the tertiary education and health sectors had already received their increases, which involved Consolidated University Academic Salary structures and Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary structures for Universities.
For polytechnics and colleges of education, it involved the Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure and Consolidated Tertiary Educational Institutions Salary Structure.
The health sector also benefited from the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure and the Health Sector Salary Structure.
“In line with the provisions of Section 173(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the Federal Government has also approved increases in pension of between 20 percent and 28 percent for pensioners on the Defined Benefits Scheme in respect of the above-mentioned six consolidated salary structures with effect from January 1, 2024,” the NSIWC stated.
Prior to 2024, Nigerian civil servants had been advocating for a salary raise. Negotiations included talks of a 40 percent increase, but an agreement was reached for a range of increases between 25 percent and 35 percent to be implemented in January 2024. This increase applies to federal civil servants under various consolidated salary structures.
Also, Nigerian labour unions have been pushing for a significant increase in the minimum wage for workers across the country.
The Nigeria Labour Congress had initially proposed N615,000 per month, while the Trade Union Congress suggested figures ranging from N447,000 to N850,000 depending on the region.
The unions argue the current minimum wage, which expired in April 2024, is insufficient due to rising inflation and the high cost of living.
Talks are ongoing, and the unions have revised their demands downward. The NLC now seeks around N500,000 while considering proposals from their state chapters.
Negotiations are influenced by recent events like the electricity tariff hike, making unions argue for a higher raise. A final decision is expected by May 1, 2024 (May Day).
