Human Rights Commission explains non-payment of new minimum wage, allowance

The Management team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has advised the staff Union of the Commission not to embark on the proposed industrial action scheduled to commence on July 16, 2020 over the unpaid new minimum wage and investigations allowances.

The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu, who disclosed this in a statement over the weekend called on the members of staff of the Commission to reject the temptation to embark on strike saying that the Commission was making frantic efforts to persuade the federal government to release funds to pay the minimum wage arrears and investigations allowances.

Ojukwu further said the situation is similar with other sister organisation’s like INEC, Public Complaints Commission, the Judiciary and NASS, that are on the statutory transfer or first line charge in the federal allocation system as only MDAs on IPPIS have been paid the new minimum wage and arrears.

The NHRC boss recalled management’s numerous staff welfare programs and its avowed stance to prioritize the interest and welfare of the staff of the Commission saying that it has been his passion to ensure that members of staff enjoy all statutory and consequential benefits like the improved investigations allowances to assuage the numerous hazards that staff of the Commission are confronted with in the course of discharging their duties.

ALSO READ: NAHCON seeks private investors for multi-million naira Hajj Camp in Lagos

According to the Executive Secretary, the protection and investigation allowances of the Commission had not been reviewed since the past ten years but Management had approached the National Income, Salaries and Wages Commission (NISWC) which had reviewed this recently and recommended some increase to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) for approval but the office of the SGF and Federal Ministry of Finance have been delaying to approve the recommended allowances by NISWC.

“This is affecting staff morale and jeopardizing investigation of complaints on human rights violations”, he said.

He however expressed surprise that the staff union executives did not reason with the management to shelve the proposed industrial action despite explanations that the Commission’s management team has no hands in the delay of the payment of the minimum wage and the investigation allowances to the entire staff of the NHRC and also considering the fact that other agencies on statutory transfer have not received their own new minimum wage and arrears.