Staff of the 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Gombe State will not benefit from the newly approved N30,000 minimum wage, the state government has said.
The state Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Joint Negotiation Committee, Dr Manassah Daniel Jatau, disclosed this on Monday while submitting the committee’s report to Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya.
Governor Yahaya had in December, 2019 constituted a 15-man committee headed by the deputy governor to negotiate the N30,000 minimum wage and the consequential adjustments.
The deputy governor said after careful review of the state finances, the committee came to a conclusion that only civil servants under the state civil service payroll can benefit from the new N30,000 minimum wage.
Dr Jatau said the committee had resolved to monitor the financial strength of the 11 LGAs for the next 12 months, to ascertain their capabilities of paying the minimum wage.
“At present, the 11 LGAs of the state cannot enjoy the new N30,000 minimum wage, until when their financial situation and revenue base increases.
“For now, only the civil servants under the payroll of state government are to benefit from the newly implemented minimum wage,” he said.
In his response, Governor Yahaya commended the committee for a thorough job and coming up with a detailed report.
He added that his administration will work hard to ensure that all the 11 LGAs also benefit from the new minimum wage in the nearest future.
Initial agreement
The Gombe State Government and the organised labour in the state had agreed that payment of the new minimum wage will commence from February 2020.
Spokesman to Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, Ismaila Uba Misilli, said the decision was arrived at after series of negotiations between the government and the organised labour.
He said the February salaries of the civil servants in the state will capture the adjustments, “as implementation takes effect from January 1, 2020.
“This was after series of negotiations between the government team, led by the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Manassah Daniel Jatau, the organized labour and the Joint Negotiation Council.
“According to the agreement signed by all the parties at a meeting led by the deputy governor, the new minimum wage of N30,000 will be paid to civil servants, including those in Local Government areas and Local Education Authorities (LEA).
“The effective date of the implementation shall be April 18, 2019 notionally, while financially with effect from January, 2020,” Misilli said.
He added that in the meantime, 65 percent on the increase of CONHESS and CONMESS will be implemented in the state civil service, “and the remaining 35 per cent will be considered during the review between the period of six and 12 months from the effective date of implementation.”
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