Working to make a living is what many people would do for a major time while alive. This exchange of skill and time for rewards, usually monetary rewards, has endured from biblical times.
Generally, employers strive to get the best in term of effort from their employees and in a similar way, employees welcome schemes to get more reward from their employers. Both sides do not willingly cede when it comes to this delicate balance. That is, the worker would always want more rewards while the employer would love to pay less rewards. So, when there is a reversal in the natural propensity on the part of the employer to pay employees more without prompting, it becomes a cause for joy – for the employees.
That was the case last week at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, which reportedly erupted in joy when Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced a salary increase to the state’s public servants as well as other welfare packages. Various headlines screamed the pay rise but the governor’s announcement went beyond that. It was an announcement of a slew of benefits to span housing, commitment to pension, and transportation, for the state’s workers.
Thanks to a 19.64% inflation rate, life in today’s Nigeria is hard. And explaining the rationale for the salary increase, Sanwo-Olu said rising costs necessitated an increase in salaries to be in tune with economic realities.
“I have looked around, I know there is pressure and high level of inflation in the country,” Sanwo-Olu began in the announcement.
“There is high cost of living everywhere. Last month at the cabinet meeting, I instructed the Office of Head of Service and Ministry of Establishment, Training and Pensions to start work on how we will increase the salaries of the entire workforce.
“I just don’t want to talk about it because we are Lagos; we reflect this decision in the lives of our people. I know the pressure of inflation is on you; we will not wait for the Federal Government before we take this decision. This is Lagos. We are going to review the salaries and ensure we take care of our public servants.”
Since the days of Bola Tinubu as governor of Lagos, salaries have never been delayed. And through the administrations of Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and presently Sanwo-Olu, the state government has prided itself on prompt payment of salaries. Outside one of the gates at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa is a huge billboard with the inscription, ‘Remember 23 never fails, Work for your alert’. The import of the message is to remind workers that their salary accounts will be credited by the 23rd of every month at the latest, hence the need to work for it. Talk about motivation.
What is the major reason workers work if not for salaries? And surely, the salary increase is an incentive for workers to perform better. And Sanwo-Olu didn’t shy from the declaring the government’s expectations from staff.
“When we do the pay rise, not only will we expect more from you, our citizens must also see the benefits of this important decision in the service delivery,” he said.
“We are a Government that is proactive, we don’t want the staff unions to hold us to ransom. We are responding to the yearnings of our people; I know you have not asked for it, but I am happy to tell you that a pay increase is on the way.”
I can imagine the whoops of joy from staff at this time of the announcement. But he proceeded to announce more.
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“We will also give our directors 100 official vehicles before the end of this month so we will start doing this in phases. The first thing I promised you then was that a certain percentage of housing will be reserved for public servants, and we have inaugurated 17 housing estates now, so we will make sure that you receive a 40 per cent discount for a certain percentage of staff housing.”
It is good that there is provision to meet the housing needs of people. And such planning for civil servants is what foresight is made of. It would make them concentrate more on their work with less distractions.
Sanwo-Olu, who was a civil servant in the state before he became governor, also harped on his administration’s commitment to clear the backlog of pensions.
“Lagos has been the best in terms of payment of pension benefits to our retired workers,” he said.
“Our government is committed to clearing the entire backlog; we are already close to clearing the 2021 liabilities. We are committed to ensuring that all our workers get paid their pensions upon retirement from service and this is the legacy we want to leave behind.”
To Lagos State workers, the country’s 62nd Independence Day celebrations would not be forgotten in a hurry. Unlike many other Nigerian workers with non-responsive employers, they got a gift of a better salary, cars and others. The announcement, in all its essence, was a recognition of the integral support which makes Lagos the ‘Centre of Excellence’ and a promise with her workers for a better tomorrow.
“I am one of you and I am part of you,” Sanwo-Olu said, winding down.
“It is really a homecoming for me. The support and encouragement I have received from all of you have been unprecedented. On behalf of Lagosians, I thank all of you for the great service you are rendering, which has made the Lagos public service the best in the country. It is only when the public service is energised and properly motivated that the citizens can feel the best of governance.”
Reacting to the announcement, the state Head of Service, Muri-Okunola, commended Sanwo-Olu, saying Lagos has the best welfare package in the country.
“The governor has ensured that the officers implementing his administration’s THEMES agenda have adequate work tools and enabling environment for the actualisation of the programmes,” he said.
“A motivated workforce is what Lagos State public service is under the leadership of Governor Sanwo-Olu and we will continue to get motivated to do more for Lagosians.”
Already, some people have criticised the salary increase, attributing it to political motives to curry votes in the 2023 elections. That is wrong. The way the cost of living is spiraling upwards is scary and I believe it is responsible for what the Sanwo-Olu administration did. It is the humane thing to do. It shows a caring and responsive employer, the type of employer other employers, both in the private and public sectors, should emulate. Kudos to Lagos State for being on the side of her workers.