The Federal Workers Forum, FWF, has urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to settle outstanding salaries and entitlements owed to federal workers.
In an online meeting, the union highlighted the struggles of poorly paid workers who are already struggling for survival.
According to the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the federal government owes workers various entitlements accumulated over the years.
These include unpaid promotion arrears, duty tour allowances, and wage increments. The workers emphasized that these outstanding payments have exacerbated their financial hardship.
The communiqué, signed by FWF National Coordinator Andrew Emelieze, appealed to President Tinubu to intervene and ensure prompt payment of the outstanding entitlements.
Emelieze noted that the federal government’s indebtedness to its workers is a significant concern that requires immediate attention.
Furthermore, Emelieze urged President Tinubu to address the rising cost of living in the country.
He called for radical measures to tackle food inflation and provide relief to workers who are struggling to make ends meet. The high cost of foodstuffs and other essential goods has worsened the economic hardship faced by federal workers.
He said:
“Mr President, Sir, the situation at hand is really very bad, worrisome, and disturbing. Nigerians are dying of hunger. The tough and hard policies you are making have brought untold hardship to the Nigerian people. Our people are now stranded everywhere; almost everybody is now a beggar.
“The Nigerian daily existence is now a struggle for survival. It is as if our people have been ambushed since the removal of the subsidy on petrol. It has been tales of lamentations everywhere, and things have really fallen apart. It is so bad that many more citizens are contemplating suicide, just as the suicide rate is more than ever before. These hard and tough decisions have proven to be very harsh, hostile, and rash.
“Sir, your policies/reforms are sentencing Nigerians to death; your policies are tantamount to capital punishment. Our society is now stagnant, our naira is badly devalued, and prices of goods and services have gone out of the reach of the masses. The price of petrol has been increased more than fourteen times since you came to power. Our people are paying a very heavy price for your policies.
“On our part as federal government workers, the story is not different; federal workers are also feeling the pains as a result of your tough policies. Federal workers are dying in silence. The price of petrol has gone up from ₦187 to ₦1300, and nothing reasonable is being done to assist the workers to combat the debilitating effects of your hard reforms. The ₦35,000 wage award/palliatives given to federal workers was stopped abruptly only after six months of undulating payments in the month of February; five months of wage awards are still owed to federal workers. The new national minimum wage paid last September shows that only ₦40,000 is added to the salaries of all federal workers across all levels.
“Sir, it is most unfortunate that despite the harsh economy, the federal government is still owing the poorly paid workers who are already struggling for survival. The government is owing years of promotion arrears, backlog of duty tour allowances (DTA), eight months of 25/35% increments, five months of wage awards, arrears of the new national minimum wage, earned allowances of federal tertiary institutions (FTI), hazard/uniform allowances of military and paramilitary officers, and many more arrears owed to federal workers and pensioners.
“Mr President, Sir, we are calling for your immediate attention; federal government workers are starving, and almost everyone is on loan to survive the day.
“Our take-home hardly survives us for a week. We, therefore, urge you to personally intervene in the plight of the federal workers. We urge you to reevaluate the so-called new national minimum wage of ₦70,000; this to us is ridiculous and should be a national embarrassment and a disgrace. Federal government workers have been financially embarrassed. We, therefore, reject ₦40,000 added to our monthly take-home as the new national minimum wage.”
The federal workers are hopeful that President Tinubu’s administration will heed their appeal and take concrete steps to address their welfare concerns.
Prompt payment of outstanding salaries and entitlements would alleviate their financial hardship and boost their morale.
