By Jennifer Y Omiloli
The Kaduna State government has said that it will start the implementation of the new national minimum wage in September.
This was revealed on Monday in a statement issued at the end of the State Executive Council meeting which held at the Government House, Kaduna.
The announcement signed by Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, Special Adviser to Governor Nasir el-Rufai on Media and Communication, noticed that with the advancement, the gross monthly pay bill of the state will go up from N2.827 billion to N3.759 billion, bringing about 33 percent expansion.
The national government, had late 2018 endorsed N30,000 as the new minimum wage permitted by law for government workers.
The government likewise said the implementation of the new compensation ought to initiate in the third quarter of 2019.
Adekeye said the State Executive Council pondered on the lowest pay permitted by law reminder and collectively affirmed its implementation in September 2019.
The announcement noted that the enormous increment in laborers’ compensation bill, including annuity duties, will take a significant piece of the state government’s expenditure.
It said meeting pay commitments and improvement destinations will further raise the strain to extend and develop income sources and accumulations all together for the administration to satisfy these obligations.
The statement reads: “The State Executive Council deliberated and approved that payment of the new national minimum wage and consequential adjustments to civil servants will begin from 1st September 2019.
“The Executive Council meeting, chaired by Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, the Deputy Governor, noted the commitment of Governor Nasir El-Rufai to strengthen the public service and its capacity to deliver quality and responsive public service.
“The council deliberated on the minimum wage memo and unanimously approved commencement of the implementation in September 2019.
“The Executive Council stated that commitment to the public service includes a desire to improve the standard of living of workers in the state. Pursuant to that, the Kaduna State Government launched a pay review process early in 2018.
“A cabinet committee was charged with exploring how the Kaduna State Government can sustainably improve public sector salaries.
Guided by the twin principles of ability to pay and sustainability, the government considered several scenarios, bearing in mind the trend of internally generated revenues and allocations from the federation account.
“Several salary scenarios were considered, and one option was identified as most prudent.
“A final decision was suspended as negotiations for a new national minimum wage appeared to gather momentum.
“It was reactivated after the federal government announced the new national minimum wage in April 2019.
“Paying the new national minimum wage and consequential adjustments will increase the wage bill of the Kaduna State Government by 33%. Gross monthly salary outlay will rise to N3.759bn from the current N2.827bn.
“This almost N1bn monthly increase in the wage bill means that salary and pension commitments will take the lion’s share of state government expenditure.
“Meeting these salary obligations while meeting development objectives for citizens will further raise the pressure to expand and deepen revenue sources and collections.”
The announcement noted that by implementing the new compensation structure, the most lowest paid workers in the civil service will appreciate augmentations of as much as 67 percent, while center positioning officials from Grade 10 to 14 were granted additions of 60 percent.
