The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has mandated workers all over the country to embark on industrial action next Wednesday to protest the unsatisfactory administration of the pension industry, which has been a source of hardship to Nigerian pensioners.
The directive was issued by the Congress during a press conference at the Labour House, Abuja, which was convened to kick-start the mobilisation of workers for the rally scheduled to hold in Abuja and all other state capitals.
Acting President of NLC, Comrade Promise Adewusi told all members of organised labour, such as NLC, TUC and their affiliates to stay off work on 10th April 10, instead participating in the rally to Aso Rock in Abuja and the offices of respective state governors.
Flanked by President of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Comrade Ali Abacha; General Secretary of NLC, Comrade Chris Uyot (Acting); General Secretary of NUP, Comrade Actor Zal; Head of Admin and Industrial Relation of NLC, Comrade Ema Ugboaja; and NLC’s Head of Information, Comrade Benson Uppah, Comrade Adewusi reiterated the determination of the Congress and its civil society allies to throng government offices in Abuja and other states of the Federation to air their grievances.
“We have invited you here today not for lamentations but to restate our resolve to embark on a peaceful protest on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, except if before then, government considers it worthwhile to address the gross criminalities and inequalities in the pension fund administration in the country, particularly as they affect our members,” he said.
“The issues in a nutshell are the non-payment of outstanding arrears to scores of pensioners, non-enrolment of thousands of pensioners on the federal pension payroll, non-payment of death benefits to the deserving next of kin.
“Others are non-implementation of payments to pensioners to reflect the 53.4 per cent salary review and payment of pension in line with relevant increases in the minimum wage to N18, 000; withholding of NUP statutory check-off dues for over a year, and the slow pace at which pension payment is being processed by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.”
Adewusi urged government to immediately restore the withheld check-off dues to NUP, fully implement the report of the Senate’s Joint Report on the pension scam, and expedite payment of all arrears of pensions to the deserving pensioners.
