Gombe LG workers’ salary delayed over new minimum wage

Local government workers in Gombe State have not received their October salary due to delay in the payment of N71,451 new minimum wage approved by the state government. Before the approval of the new minimum wage, local government employees in the state were paid the old N18,000 minimum wage. The state government and the state […]

Local government workers in Gombe State have not received their October salary due to delay in the payment of N71,451 new minimum wage approved by the state government.

Before the approval of the new minimum wage, local government employees in the state were paid the old N18,000 minimum wage.

The state government and the state chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) had on October 14, signed the document for the implementation of the new minimum wage for both state and local government employees, promising that it would take effect from October.

The Deputy Governor, Dr Manassah Daniel Jatau, who presided over the signing ceremony, asked any workers not paid the new minimum wage by the end of the month to report to him.

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Workers under the state civil service received their salaries on October 30, but 10 days into the new month, their counterparts under the employ of the local government had yet to receive their salaries.

Daily Trust reports that workers in Gombe State are usually paid salaries between 25th and 27th of every month.

Our correspondent reports that the delayed salary payment has affected the local government workers’ livelihoods.

“This delay is making workers lives more difficult as we are struggling to make ends meet, and this delay is only making things worse.

“We are appealing to the government to please pay us the approved new minimum wage immediately,” Sani Ahmed, a civil servant, lamented.

Some of the workers expressed fears that even when paid the salary, it would not be enough, “because most of us have incurred debt with the hope of getting paid the new minimum wage.”

“The promise of N71,451 has made some of our colleauges to incur debt because it is a huge leap from N18,000 to N71,451. However, we have been waiting since October 25. Now it is almost 50 days since we collected our last salary in September.

“And because of the biometric capturing, we must go to work daily, despite not being paid our salaries. So, most of the debt goes to paying for transport to the office,” a staff of one of the LGAs complained.

When contacted, the state’s Commissioner of Finance and Economic Development, Muhammad Gambo Magaji, did not give reasons for the delay in paying the workers.

He, however, replied “They’ll be paid today (Sunday) Insha Allah.”

However, at the time of filing this report, the workers were still waiting for the payment of their salaries.