COMPENSATION MATTERS of National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC)
In line with its mandates, the Commission covers matters pertaining to remuneration in the Federal Public Service, the National Minimum Wage, the review of Federal Public Service pensions, and research into public service pay, including a pay comparability survey of the public and regional pay system. The accomplishments of the Commission on Compensation matters in the year 2022 relating to various ministries, departments, and agencies are summarized below:6.1.1Industrial Relations Engagements/Negotiations with Unions/ Meetings
(1) The Commission participated in the Renegotiation of the 2009/2010 Agreements between the FGN and Tertiary Institutions- Based Unions – ASUU, SSANU, NASU and NAAT, and COASUU, ASUP, SSUCEON, ASUP/SSANIP, etc. The negotiations are still ongoing.
(2) The Commission made necessary inputs and provided relevant information during conciliation meetings between FG, NMA, and NARD owing to threats of industrial strike.
(3) In line with one of its statutory functions, which is to examine, streamline and recommend salary scales applicable to each post in the public service, the Commission processed requests from some agencies for the review of their remuneration packages including conditions of service for their staff and pension of retirees. In some cases, these requests were products of collective bargaining between the management, workers, unions, and the Commission.
These requests were processed based on the Commission’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) with recommendations made to the Board for necessary consideration. The decisions of the Board of the Commission were forwarded to the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS) for approval.
The following are the requests handled accordingly in the year 2022:
(i) Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGOF);
(ii) National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA);
(iii) Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA);
(iv) Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) on their new CBA;
(v) Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) on their new Conditions of Service;
(vi) National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), on their new Conditions of Service;
(vii) News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), to implement a Job-Specific Allowance;(viii)Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP);
(xviii) Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF);
(xix) Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment (FML&E), on peculiar Allowance for staff of the Ministry;
(xx) Nigerian Communication Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), on their new Conditions of Service;
(xxi) Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) on their new approved Conditions of Service;
(xxii) National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA); and
(xxiii) National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
(4) Inter-Agency Committee on Harmonization of Pension of Retired Public Servants on Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS). The Commission hosted a meeting of the Inter-agency Committee on Harmonization of Pension of Retired Officers on the Define Benefit Scheme (DBS). The meeting was presided over by the Ag. Director Compensation of the Commission and deliberation on the matter are still ongoing.
(5) The Commission was, also, in the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions with the retirees of the defunct Delta Steel Company and other stakeholders to discuss issues bordering on post-retirement benefits. The Pensioners had submitted a petition against the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorates (PTAD). Due to the interventions of the Commission, the matter was amicably resolved.
(6)The Commission was represented at the meeting convened by the Federal Ministry of Health to deliberate on the challenge of brain drain in the Health Sector with a view to finding a lasting solution and making recommendations to the government.
(7)The Commission hosted a meeting of stakeholders to streamline the payment of staff salaries and pensions of retirees of agencies and organizations funded in first-line charge, and a meeting on the Revised Consolidated Salary Structure of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).
6.1.2 PROVISION OF INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
The Commission assisted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in their investigation of abuse of due process in the payment of salaries and allowances by providing relevant information on legitimate salaries and allowances of organizations, among others.
6.1.3 MONITORING OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE 2019
The Commission commenced activities on the monitoring of the implementation of the National Minimum Wage with a one-day Stakeholders’ public enlightenment and sensitization workshop for field officers organized in December 2022, while the exercise started on 23rd January 2023. The conduct of the exercise, which was one of its kind in the country, was in line with the provision of the National Minimum Wage Act 2019.
6.1.4 IMPLEMENTATION OF 2022 CAPITAL PROJECTS
(i) The 2022 Salary Inspection which focused on Agencies under the Federal Ministry of Education was completed and a draft report has been submitted for consideration.
(ii) 2022 Collection of Staffing Data of Personnel in the Federal Ministry of Health and its Parastatals (Manning Level of Database Development) was completed and the draft report is being fine- tuned for submission.
(iii) 2022 Continuous Salary Inspection exercise focused on agencies under the Federal Ministry of Industrial, Trade and Investment and Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel.
The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), established by Decree No. 99 of 1993—now recognized as Cap N72 in the Laws of the Federation—was created to oversee and address various aspects of compensation within Nigeria’s Federal Public Service.
NSIWC’s core functions encompass handling remuneration-related matters, administering the National Minimum Wage, reviewing Federal Public Service pensions, conducting research into public service pay structures, and managing comparability surveys and salary administration regulations across the country.
