TheCable

The federal government says it is working to conclude on harmonisation of salaries for civil servants by the end of the year.

Folasade Yemi-Esan, head of the civil service, disclosed this on Tuesday at an interview on the African Initiative for Governance (AIG) public service leaders’ programme.

Speaking on measures adopted to address the gap in salaries for civil servants, she said the committee on the harmonisation process has held meetings on the subject and hopes to reach a conclusion soon.

“A lot of work is being done on salaries. Even right now, I chair a presidential committee on harmonisation of salaries in the public service, and actually it took a lot of work,” she said.

“It’s unfortunate that the differences are quite wide, and that’s the problem that the committee is having right now. It might not be possible to bring those that are high there, down.

“Also, it won’t be possible to bring everybody to that high salary grade level. So, what we’re trying to do is to find a way of bringing most people up and then also find what we can do with those that are already very high.

“But let me assure you that a lot of work is being done. And we’re working with the salaries, incomes and wages commission. They are also part of this committee. The budget office is the secretariat.

“The ministry of finance, the ministry of labour, everybody is on this committee. And the good thing about this is that we all agreed that something must be done about it, especially those that are core civil servants that earn the lowest salaries.

“I think we all agreed on that. But the issue now is we’re working on it. My prayer is really that by the end of the year, we would have come to a conclusion.”

She also encouraged civil servants to be dedicated to their duties, adding that there are a lot of opportunities for growth in the service.

“It’s also important for me to reiterate that we shouldn’t allow the salaries to discourage us. I think it is important and fair that I say that. Yes, the salaries are not good. But there are also 101 other opportunities,” she said.

“I grew up in the service and I know that once you have been identified as a high flyer, the opportunities will come your way even without searching for those opportunities to make a few extra naira aside from your salaries. So, that’s why I keep saying that it’s important to be hardworking.”

The federal government had, in May, directed the National Salaries, Incomes & Wages Commission (NSIWC) to review salaries of civil servants and some federal agencies.