15th August, 2011
Lagos State civil servants have complained that they don’t know the breakdown of their salaries, and, therefore, are not sure if the state government is actually paying them the correct minimum wage which it claimed to be paying since the beginning of this year.
Some of the civil servants described the purported minimum wage being paid by government as a ruse, saying that since the commencement of the payment of the new package, leave allowances have not been paid.
An accountant in one of the ministries was quoted as saying that the state government is not paying them the real package as most of the allowances which they used to enjoy had been abrogated.
When Alausa Rhythms sought the view of some of the civil servants, it was discovered that many of them did not believe they were being paid the exact minimum wage.
According to them, no civil servant in the state government’s employ could tell what his or her basic salary is, as this was not spelt out in their new payslip.
The payslip only spelt out the overall package, the amount of tax and contributory pension being deducted monthly. The breakdown, such as housing allowance, basic salaries and others were conspicuously missing in the payslip.
Former Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pension, Mr. Jide Sanwo-Olu, had debunked claims by civil servants that the state government had abolished leave allowance when he was asked then to clarify the rumour.
He told newsmen at one of the ministerial press briefings that government had not stopped paying leave allowance, saying it would be paid in June.
Sanwo-Olu had since been made to eat his words as leave allowance has not been paid, making the rumour to spread further that government had actually abolished leave allowance.
The civil servants challenged the government to make known the breakdown of their salaries if it was actually paying them the actual package, saying that nothing should be hidden if really the actual minimum wage was being paid.
When contacted, the Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions, Mrs. Florence Oguntuase, told Alausa Rhythms that she is still new in office and did not have details of the issue. She said she would find out what was going on.
Chairman, State Joint Negotiating Committee, Comrade Henry Akinwunmiju, said he was aware of the complaints by civil servants over the breakdown of their salaries and leave allowance.
According to him, under Harmonised Salary Structure, the leave allowance of public servants was paid once in a year, but everything changed under the new Minimum Wage Act.
He added that under the Consolidated Salary Structure, “the leave bonus is paid in 12 months. Leave bonus no longer comes annually again. It is included in the monthly take-home pay.
Akinwunmiju assured the state public servants that the Office of the Accountant-General had been working on a well-structured wage package, which he said, would, show the breakdown of their take-home pay, adding that “the tax is the same. The state government is still using the existing tax law for the public servants.â€