By Dianabasi Effiong
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has described the Federal Government’s plans to clear the five monthly arrears of the N35,000 wage award to civil servants as a reflection of excellent government-labour relations.
In a statement by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa, TMSG said the disbursement, to begin in May, was a fulfillment of its promise to organised labour during negotiations for a new national minimum wage.
It stated: “As part of efforts to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy, the Federal Government in 2023 made an offer to pay what was then referred to as wage award to treasury-paid government workers for six months during negotiations for a new minimum wage.
“We are aware that at the time, a number of states also keyed in to stay in line with national wage standards, but it is not certain that all the states honoured the agreement in spite of substantial increase in federation allocations to them.
“It is true that after making the wage award offer, the President Bola Tinubu administration paid five months’ wage to government employees in installments with a promise to pay the outstanding.”
The TMSG also stated that it welcomed the announcement by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) of plans to disburse the outstanding wage award of N35,000 per month in five installments.
“This means that rather than the initial promise of six months, the federal government is extending it to ten months to cover the length of the wage negotiation period.
“We believe that this gesture would go a long way to helping federal government employees to ease the burden of the cost of living crisis,” it added.
It also urged state governments to take a cue from the federal government and clear outstanding arrears of wage awards to their workers, especially now that they have enhanced federal allocations.
The group added that toeing the federal government’s good gesture would go a long way to enhance excellent industrial relations in the country towards boosting industrial peace, productivity, and general growth and development.
