Reported federal salary increase not minimum wage – ASCSN

By Innocent Raphael

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has clarified that the recent announcement by the Federal Government regarding a 25 to 35 per cent increase in workers’ salaries does not pertain to the minimum wage.

President of ASCSN and Vice President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Tommy Okon, provided this clarification during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.

Okon emphasized that the salary adjustment aims to address existing wage disparities within certain ministries, departments, and agencies, rather than constituting a raise in the minimum wage.

He also harped on the need for accurate information dissemination, highlighting that some misconstrued the increase as a unilateral decision by the government to elevate the minimum wage.

The clarification by ASCSN comes in the wake of the Federal Government’s announcement on Tuesday, which outlined salary increments ranging from 25 to 35 per cent across six consolidated salary structures, including those for civil service, research institutions, police, para-military, intelligence community, and armed forces.

Okon stressed the importance of clarity for workers and the public, reaffirming that the salary adjustments are targeted at narrowing wage differentials within the civil service.