FG to pay outstanding wage award before mid-August, promotion arrears to follow

The Federal Government has assured public servants that the outstanding wage award will be paid before the middle of August, while promotion arrears are being processed as part of efforts to fulfil its commitments to workers.

The assurance was given by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, during a meeting with the leadership of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), Trade Side, led by its National President, Comrade Kabiru Ado Minjibir, in Abuja.

Oyedele said the government had already begun addressing many of the issues raised by the council even before receiving its formal communication, stressing that the administration remained committed to resolving legitimate labour concerns through constructive engagement.

He said the necessary approvals for the payment of the outstanding wage award were being finalised and expressed confidence that eligible public servants would begin receiving the payments before the middle of August.

The minister also assured workers that outstanding promotion arrears were receiving the required attention, with pending batches being processed in line with established procedures.

According to him, government would continue to honour its commitments to workers by providing realistic timelines and ensuring implementation of agreements reached.

He directed relevant officials to review all documents presented by the council, engage with the appropriate Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and expedite action on all outstanding labour-related matters.

Oyedele acknowledged concerns by organised labour over delays in implementing some agreements but assured the delegation that the government would continue to strengthen trust through openness, regular consultation and prompt action.

“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,” he said.

Earlier, Minjibir commended the minister for receiving the delegation and appealed for the speedy resolution of pending labour issues, including the outstanding wage award, promotion arrears, salary relativity concerns affecting health workers and other matters impacting public servants.

He said timely implementation of the outstanding commitments would strengthen industrial harmony and boost workers’ confidence in the government’s resolve to improve their welfare.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Raymond Omachi, reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to working closely with organised labour to ensure that approved workers’ entitlements were processed and released without avoidable delays.

Omachi said the ministry would continue to engage relevant government institutions to fast-track the resolution of outstanding labour issues, describing constructive dialogue as the most effective means of sustaining industrial harmony.

The Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mohammed Sanusi Danjuma, said the government was making steady progress in addressing outstanding workers’ entitlements.

He disclosed that Batch 7 promotion arrears, which was inadvertently omitted during an earlier payment exercise, was now being processed alongside Batch 9 and expressed confidence that beneficiaries would begin receiving their payments once processing was completed.

Danjuma added that the Federal Government was also working with relevant MDAs to resolve issues relating to the Peculiar Allowance and other outstanding labour matters.

Providing an update on the payment process, the Director of Cash Management at the Federal Ministry of Finance, Christiana Osho, said reconciliation for the outstanding wage award had been completed and that the payment release was at its final stage.

She explained that once the release was effected, eligible public servants would begin receiving the outstanding wage award, while processing of promotion arrears would continue in line with the approved schedule.

Both the government and organised labour reaffirmed their commitment to sustained dialogue and collaboration to ensure the timely resolution of outstanding labour issues and promote industrial harmony across the Federal Public Service.