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Approves N30,000 Minimum Wage For Rivers’ Workers

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has approved the immediate implementation of N30,000 new minimum wage and the consequential adjustments as approved by the Federal Government.

A statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus

Nsirim, yesterday, reads, “His Excellency, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has graciously approved the payment of the minimum wage of N30,000 monthly salary for employees of the Rivers State Public Service with the consequential salary adjustments as approved by the Federal Government”.

It is learnt that the approval follows the outcome of series of negotiations by committees from both state Public Service Joint Negotiating Council (PSJNC) and the Rivers State Government.

It was gathered that with the approval of the new minimum wage by the state governor, a fresh salary table may soon be released by the Office of the Head of Service to facilitate implementation of the policy.

The negotiations were triggered by the release of the circular on the new national minimum wage by the Federal Government in November, last year, following the conclusion of negotiations between the Federal Government and organized labour.

It would be recalled that in the salary table released along with the circular, the least paid federal worker on Level 1 Step 1 will earn N360,000 per annum (representing N30,000 monthly) while the highest-paid at Level 17 Step 9 will take home N6,215,435 per annum (representing N517,952.91).

The circular on the new wage, dated November 14 and signed by the Acting Chairman of the National Income, Salaries and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, said, “Consequent upon the enactment of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2019 and the negotiations between the Federal Government and organised labour (represented by the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council) in respect of the consequential adjustments of salaries of employees in the federal public service, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has approved the revision of the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS) with effect from the 18th of April, 2019.”

In the breakdown, a worker on Level 1, Step 1 will earn N360, 000 per annum, while Level 1, Step 15 will earn N422, 566 per annum.

The circular further indicated that GL 2 Step 1 will earn N363, 328 and Step 15, N445, 130 (about N37,094.16 monthly); while GL 3 Step 1 will earn N366, 170 (about N30,514.16 per month) with Step 15 on same GL earning N466,718 per annum (about N38,893.16 per month).

Also, workers on GL 4 Step 1 will earn N376,194 (representing N31,349.5 per month) while Step 15 of same level will go home with N497,000 annually (representing N41,416.66 per month).

However, workers on Grade Level 5, Step 1 officer will earn N394, 498 per annum (about N32,874.83 monthly) and on Step 15 earn N534, 834 per annum (representing N44,569.5 monthly), GL 6 Step 1 N449,429 (about N37, 452.41 monthly) and Step 15, N620,495 (about N51,707.91 monthly); just as Level 7, Step 1 officer will earn N638, 133 per annum (representing N53,177.75 monthly) and Step 15 will earn N961, 577 per annum (about N80,131.41 monthly).

In same token, GL 8 Step 1 will take home N799,421 (about N66,618.41 per month) while Step 15 will earn N1, 140, 395 per annum (about N95,032.91 monthly); with GL 9 Step 1 earning N928, 981 (about N77,415.08 monthly) while Step 15 will earn N1,371,711 annually (about N114,309.25 monthly).

Similarly, Level 10 step 1 will earn N1, 060,833 per annum (about N88,402.75 monthly), while Step 15 of the same level will earn N1, 535,417 per annum (representing N127,951.41 monthly) while GL 12 Step 1 will earn N1, 2 21, 722 (about N101,810.16 monthly) with Step 11 earning N1,747,532 per annum (representing N145,627.66 per month).

With the new minimum wage, federal workers on GL 13 Step 1 will earn N1, 362, 110 (about N113, 509.16 per month) and Step 11 of the same GL will go home with N1, 918, 005 per year (about N159,833.75 per month); just as Grade Level 14 Step 1 will earn N1, 503,149 per annum (about N125,262.41 per month) and Step 11 of the same level will earn N2, 101,600 (about N175,133.33 per month).

In the same vein, Level 15 Step 1 to earn N2,027,623 per annum (about N168,968.58 monthly) while Step 9 of the same Level will earn N2,693,980 (about N224,498.33 monthly); just as a civil servant on Grade Level 16 Step 1 will take home N2,505,352 (about N208,779.33 monthly) while government worker on Step 9 of same GL will earn N3,306,197 per annum (about N275,516.41 monthly). For federal workers on GL 17

Step 1, they will earn N4, 769, 304 (about N397, 442 monthly) and those at Step 9 will take the highest chunk of N6, 215, 435 per annum (about N517,952.91 monthly).

It was learnt that the new salary template does not include some special allowances, including those earned by special duty staff in ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government, including educational, finance and health institutions, which cumulatively increase the wages of affected workers.

It is further learnt that the organized labour had announced January 31, as fresh deadline for implementation of the new minimum wage by the various state governments, warning that any state governor that fails to comply with the Federal Government directive would face industrial action by workers. The initial deadline was December 31, 2019.

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