THE Federal Government has said it will pay workers of the Public Complaints Commission the sum of N872million as consequential adjustment of 18 months minimum wage arrears.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said this when the three trade unions in the Public Complaints Commission picketed her office in Abuja on Wednesday.
She was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Aliyu Ahmed.
The minister told the protesters that she had already approved and granted authorisation to the Accountant General of the Federation to release the N872m and 18 months arrears.
The Finance Minister confirmed that she had received the alert for the payment, adding that the ministry would now finalise and make the payments to the PCC.
She said the money would be released in the next 48 hours.
Members of the Nigerian Civil Service Union; Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria of the Public Complaints Commission had stormed the premises of the Federal Ministry of Finance demanding for the payment of their entitlements.
Led by Comrade Isa Usman Degri, Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Civil Service Union, the group lamented that staff of the Commission had yet to start receiving the new minimum wage.
He said, “Minimum wage is yet to start in Public Complaints Commission for the past 18 months.
“Many people were paid their arrears in December 2019. From 2019, December till now is 9 months, it is yet to start in PCC.
“We will continue to do this until we are heard. If there are other agencies that have Nigerians as workers that are yet to start implementing, know that we are going to come back for them but today, we are here for PCC.”
The trade unions are demanding that N872m and consequential adjustment of the 18 months be released with immediate effect to enable activities to resume in the PCC offices nationwide.
