The Minister of Labour and Employment says Minister Chris Ngige was quoted out of context on the claim of salary increment for federal government workers.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun made the clarification in a statement on Friday.
According to the statement the Minister only said some “peculiar allowances” are being reviewed and not the salary of workers as widely reported.
He added that the salary of workers can’t be reviewed by the government without involving leaders of organized labour.
“It’s hoped that this rightful step which the Federal Government had embarked upon on compassionate grounds without any prodding or threat to strike will help to cushion the debilitating effects of spiraling inflation especially that which affects food and energy prices (Electricity and Petroleum product),” he said
The statement added, “The Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS) through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) received recommendations for review of allowances of many Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government.
“Because salary component is not being reviewed for now by the committee, it addressed the allowances component of the requests including the peculiar allowance for Federal Civil Servants amongst others.
“In Labour parlance as par payment for compensation for work done, REMUNERATION or EMOLUMENT is made up of salary component and earned allowance component.
“Therefore, the Federal Government through the PCS could not have engaged on the review of salaries without involving the workers through their unions, represented by these two Labour federation of workers in Nigeria – The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), salary review or renegotiation is part of social dialogue and the product is usually a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) usually agreed to by both parties – employers and employees.”
