Civil servants in Nigeria will see their salaries boosted by 25% to 35% in a bid to address the challenges posed by the escalating cost of living, as reported by Reuters news agency.
According to the report, the least-paid government employee will now earn $324 (£258) annually.
Police and military personnel are among the state workers slated to benefit from these salary increments, effective from January and retroactively applied.
This announcement coincided with the eve of Wednesday’s Workers’ Day holiday.
However, Nigeria’s inflation rate has surged to over 30%, the highest in nearly thirty years.
Moreover, food prices have soared by 35%, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics. As a result, the salary increases for civil servants effectively maintain their purchasing power at existing levels.
The National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC) disclosed that pensions for eligible workers would also witness a boost of 20% to 28%.
These adjustments follow recent salary increases for academic and healthcare professionals.
Despite these measures, the monthly minimum wage, mandated by the government for all employers, remains stagnant since 2019, standing at 30,000 naira. With the currency’s sharp depreciation, this amounts to just $19 (£15).
Furthermore, the government has hiked electricity tariffs for high-consuming consumers, aiming to reduce the financial burden on public finances.
While the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) appreciated the salary increments, it urged the government to ensure they reflect the country’s challenging economic conditions.
“These categories of workers are already in the privileged sector but we expect it to be extended also to other categories of civil servants who are in lower cadre and are vulnerable,” NLC spokesman Comrade Benson Upah told local media.