By Daniel Tyokua
There are indications that workers of International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) will down tools in the first time over hardship.
This is as the Nigeria’s current cost of living crisis is on the increase, and the management failure to address the situation.
Findings showed that the trouble started earlier this year, when the organization announced a global funding gap that leads to the downsizing of its operations.
Investigation revealed that the situation resulted in a significant reduction of staff and the scaling back of ICRC’s operations.
In March, the Nigeria management made a controversial decision to suddenly remove the Cost of Living Allowance, intended to help the staff cope with the country’s soaring inflation.
“Shockingly, the allowance was canceled for Nigerian staff but was retained for expatriate employees”
This, he said ignited outraged by the Nigerian staff, which voiced their concerns, eventually leading to the restoration of the allowance. But the divide between expatriate and Nigerian salaries remained a significant point of contention.
A source who don’t want his name mentioned Said “Recently, following the unification of the exchange rate and removal of fuel subsidies, Nigerian staff raised a compelling argument. They pointed out that the value of their salaries’ had eroded significantly (up to -76%), while expatriate counterparts enjoyed a substantial increase (+76%) when converted to the local currency.
“To break this down further, the ICRC mission in Nigeria receives the funds for its operations in CHF (Swiss Francs). Expat staff in Nigeria are paid in CHF but the Nigerian staff are paid in NGN. CHF used to convert to Naira at 1CHF to 509NGN as of June 1, 2023. As of Tuesday 25 July 2023, 1CHF exchanged for 913NGN.
“What this means for ICRC’s expatriate staff in Nigeria who get their salaries in CHF is that the value of their salaries in NGN has almost doubled.
“The value of the salaries of the Nigerian staff has been halved because their salaries are pegged at the numerical value of the NGN, independent of the exchange rate. This also means that as of today, when the salaries for Nigerian staff are converted to Naira, the ICRC is making a significant savings on their salaries.
“How are staff of a global humanitarian organisation expected to selflessly carry out their duties if they can barely pay their bills?”
