Stakeholders at the National Policy on Living Wages and Corruption in Nigeria has advocated regular review and payment of fair wages to workers to reduce corruption in the civil service.
The Dialogue was organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in collaboration with the Michael Imodu National Institute for Labour Studies and supported by the MacArthur Foundation.
One of the stakeholders, the outgoing Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission ICPC, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye emphasized that with low income and earnings, workers have become vulnerable to sharp practices noting that with increased income and wages, the tendency to engage in sharp practices would drastically reduce.
Reacting, Ekpo Nta, the Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, expressed the federal government’s commitment to implementing good policies that are geared towards improving the welfare of workers across the country.
He said with the Federal government’s agreement reached with the Organised Labour, President Tinubu’s administration will ensure implementation of the new minimum wage once discussions have been concluded on it.
The representatives of the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Dr Tommy Okoh and Auwal Mustapha urged the federal government to prioritize decent living wages for workers in order to enhance productivity and promote rapid socio-economic development in the nation.
Prof Dafe Otobo, a keynote speaker at the event, described corruption as a pervasive issue that has deeply affected all sectors of the country’s economy and therefore advocated provision of better welfare packages, social amenities, and necessary infrastructure for public servants to perform their duties effectively.
END
