INEC has flouted the directive of the President on the payment and implementation of the new minimum wage arrears as agreed with organised labour after the series of negotiations between the parties.
Staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission might embark on strike action over the refusal of the agency’s leadership to pay the new minimum wage arrears as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
INEC has flouted the directive of the President on the payment and implementation of the new minimum wage arrears as agreed with organised labour after the series of negotiations between the parties.
It was learnt that all ministries, departments and agencies except INEC had complied with the President's directive since December 2019.
Staff of the electoral commission alleged that the agency’s leadership was being insensitive to their plight because they were yet to benefit from the salary adjustment.
They also claimed that some individuals in the commission had collected and deposited the funds in bank in order to yield interest for them.
It was also revealed that INEC’s management were yet to pay the promotion salary arrears to some workers since 2019.
In a letter dated February 5, 2020 and signed by one Isaac Ojemnenke, Secretary-General of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, and forwarded to INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the staff requested for the immediate payment of the consequential salary adjustment arising from the new minimum wage of N30,000 on or before February 29, 2020.
They noted that failure to do the needful might cause the union to take appropriate action on the matter.
The letter reads, “Recall that the Federal Government through the Minister of Labour and Employment directed all MDAs to ensure full implementation of the new national minimum wage and the consequential adjustment on or before December 31, 2019.
“The national leadership of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, the Union that constitutes Council 1 of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, is surprised that INEC, the symbol of democracy in Nigeria, has failed to comply with the directive of the Federal Government over this important wage matter.
“Sequel to the above and the need to promote industrial peace and harmony in the INEC, ASCSN wishes to request that INEC management implement the consequential adjustment on salaries of staff with effect from April 18, 2019 on or before February 29, 2020, failing which the union will be left with no other alternative than to take appropriate action to address the matter.”