N1.12trn Required for Proposed University Workers Wage Increase – FG.
The Federal Government has said the proposal made by the Prof. Nimi Briggs-led Committee in relation to the demands by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other unions in universities would gulp N1.12 trillion to implement which is a 109 to 185 percent increase in the university wage structure.
This was made known in a statement signed by the Deputy Director of Press and Public Relations in the Labour Ministry, Mr. Olajide Oshundun, on behalf of the minister, Senator Chris Ngige.
The statement explained that based on the recommendation, Federal Government would incur, an additional N560 billion as salaries alone, on top of the present N412 billion, less all other allowances such as Earned Allowance, field trip responsibility and postgraduate supervision allowances, and hazard allowances which were to gulp another N170 billion.”
It added: “In all, the sum of N1.12trn will be needed to pay the salaries and allowances of university lecturers and other staff in the university system.”
The Minister of Labour and Employment claimed that at present, the wage bill of the university staff and their colleagues in teaching health systems gulp nearly 50 percent of the total federal government staff personnel cost/ wages.
While explaining how the Prof. Briggs Committee reached the proposed wage increase, Senator Ngige said what happened was that ASUU insisted that relevant Ministries and Agencies should recuse themselves from the sitting of the Committee, accusing them of non-cooperation.
“All alone with the Prof. Briggs Committee, ASUU started fixing their salaries and allowances to the exclusion of the statutory government ministries and agencies that manage the entire annual finances of government, budget, and fiscal policies and the Office of the Head of Service that is in charge of ensuring that public service rules and regulations are not undermined in any condition of service offered to public officers in the universities.
“Because of this exclusion engineered by ASUU, and the arising complaints to the Chief of Staff to the President and the Minister of Labour and Employment by the concerned MDAs, the Chief of Staff and the Minister of Labour set up an Inter-Ministerial/Agency sub-committee comprising the affected MDAs under the Minister of State Budget and National Planning to quickly look into Prof. Briggs Committee report which to all intents and purpose was still a proposal in June 2022 at the government side meeting.
The Minister, however, said, the Presidential Committee on Salaries and Wages has finished the review of Prof. Nimi Briggs proposal and would shortly submit the same to the President.