The Federal Government says federal public servants waiting for the payment of the outstanding wage award will begin receiving their money before the middle of August, as efforts have also been stepped up to clear outstanding promotion arrears owed to workers.
The assurance came on Wednesday after a meeting between the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, and leaders of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), Trade Side, in Abuja.
The meeting focused on unresolved welfare issues affecting federal workers, including unpaid wage awards, promotion arrears, salary relativity for health workers and other outstanding allowances.
Speaking during the meeting, Oyedele said the Tinubu administration remains determined to fulfil agreements reached with organised labour, explaining that work on several of the issues raised by the union had already begun before its latest formal presentation.
He said government understood the importance of meeting its obligations to workers and would continue to provide realistic timelines for implementing outstanding commitments instead of making promises it could not keep.
‘When government makes commitments, it delivers. We are not in the habit of making promises that cannot be fulfilled. Where there are outstanding issues, we will give realistic timelines and ensure they are implemented,’ the minister said.
According to him, the final administrative processes required for releasing the outstanding wage award are almost complete, paving the way for eligible workers to receive the payment before the middle of this month.
He also disclosed that the payment of promotion arrears was progressing, with the remaining batches already receiving attention under the approved government procedures.
To hasten implementation, the minister directed officials of the Ministry of Finance to work with the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to resolve every outstanding issue brought before the government by the labour representatives.
Oyedele admitted that delays in implementing some labour agreements had created concerns among workers but said the government intended to strengthen confidence through regular engagement, openness and timely action.
He added, ‘Our objective is to build a system where issues are resolved proactively. We want workers to have confidence that once government gives its word, it will honour that commitment.’
The labour delegation, led by JPSNC National President, Comrade Kabiru Ado Minjibir, welcomed the engagement with the minister but appealed for faster action on unresolved welfare matters affecting public servants.
Minjibir said workers were particularly concerned about the outstanding wage award, unpaid promotion arrears, salary relativity affecting health workers and other pending entitlements, noting that resolving them quickly would improve industrial relations and boost workers’ confidence in government.
Permanent Secretary Raymond Omachi said the ministry would continue working with organised labour and other government institutions to ensure approved workers’ benefits were processed without unnecessary delays.
The Permanent Secretary Special Duties in the ministry, Mohammed Sanusi Danjuma, disclosed that Batch Seven promotion arrears, which had been omitted during an earlier payment exercise, were now being processed together with Batch Nine. He said the government was equally working with the relevant agencies to resolve issues relating to the Peculiar Allowance and other pending labour matters.
Also speaking, Director of Cash Management Christiana Osho said reconciliation of the outstanding wage award had been completed and that only the final release of funds was outstanding before payments commence.
She added that work on the outstanding promotion arrears was continuing in line with the approved payment schedule.
The meeting ended with both government and organised labour agreeing to sustain consultations as part of efforts to resolve outstanding welfare issues and maintain industrial peace across the Federal Public Service.