Civil Servants’ Dress Code Stirs Controversy In Delta

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Delta State council, has warned the state government over the newly introduced dress code for civil servants in the state.

It described the move as insensitive to the current economic hardship facing many workers in the state.
Few days ago, the Office of Head of Service (HOS), issued a memo detailing a new dress code for civil servants in the state.

The memo, signed by the permanent secretary in the office of HOS, Mr M.M. Awuse, detailed how civil servants should appear in office, such that female civil servants should not wear eyelashes and coloured hair to the office while men are warned not to keep beards, just as the wearing of some types of caps to complement traditional attires on Friday are also banned.
First to condemn the move was the state NLC which opposed the new dress code for civil servants in the state.
The NLC said the government neglected workers’ representatives and came up with the new policy to tax the pockets of workers.

Addressing workers, the NLC chairman, Comrade Goodluck Oforbruku, expressed dissatisfaction over the implementation of the new policy without prior consultation with labour representatives.

He called on the state government to provide wardrobe allowances for civil servants, following the introduction of a revised dress code policy across the state civil service.

The labour leader noted that many civil servants are already struggling to meet basic needs due to the rising cost of living and mounting family responsibilities, and introducing a stricter dress code would only worsen their plight.

Comrade Oforbruku also advised civil servants to maintain decency and professionalism in their appearance, emphasising that the NLC does not condone indecent dressing.

However, he warned against any form of victimisation by heads of departments or supervisors, urging workers to report such cases to labour leaders promptly.

Meanwhile mixed feelings have greeted the circular, which has sparked widespread discussion among the workforce.

A retired civil servant who preferred anonymity said the issue that should be frontally addressed by the HOS should be workers’ welfare and the galloping inflation which has reduced to nothingness the much-touted minimum wage, stressing that civil servants in the state need a living wage.

“The state is rich enough to do that but for the greed and larceny of the political elites. The present purgatorial peanuts called salaries for civil servants are outlandish and veers towards slave labour. Civil servants’ fate is even worse when they retire into penury and destitution under the veneer of a contributory pension scheme.

“Yet, the head of service and permanent secretaries retire under the old scheme with their last salaries. It is an insult to the collective sacrifice of civil servants who toil every day to oil the engine of governance. PENCOM and Pension fund administrators make the life of retired civil servants a living hell,” he said.

According to the new circular, for female public servants, acceptable clothing includes trouser suits, skirt suits, or corporate gowns that fall below the knees and have sleeves. Sleeveless outfits, spaghetti straps, revealing clothing, and any dress that exposes cleavage are strictly banned.

The government ordered the heads of departments to monitor how workers dress and to send anyone who breaks the rules back home to change before returning to work, adding that anyone who refuses to follow the rules could face punishment.