… Says pensioners still earning N500
The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) on Thursday appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to as a matter of urgency include the union in the recently constituted national minimum wage committee.
National President of NUP, Comrade Godwin Abumisi who made this known to journalists, said the called was due to the socio-economic development within the labour circle which has everything to do with the life and survival of the Nigeria workforce, including the pensioners whom we represent.
He said the union hope was dashed when it was discovered that she has no representation in the minimum wage committee.
“we feel that the pensioners’ union should be carried along during negotiations on the matters that bother on their members. Unfortunately and regrettably too, our hope of being represented in the Committee was dashed as the name of NUP was visibly omitted from the membership list.
“And this is the reason why we are here today to protest and register our displeasure and dissatisfaction with the constitution of the committee which has undermined the relevance and authority of the union (NUP), using the instrumentality of the press”.
Also , the general Secretary of NUP, Comrade Actor Zal said the union is demanding her inclusion because Pensioners has always been left out of previous minimum wage.
He said ordinary, as an affiliate of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), one would have thought that the interest of pensioners should be protected , but reveres was the case.
“Some may argue that the interest of the NUP as a member of the Organized Labour family would be sufficiently catered for by the representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the committee. But regrettably, this has not always been the case as previous experiences have shown that pensioners had always been left out in the series of wage reviews and negotiations to their fate, not until their local union (NUP) will have to struggle overtime to press for a corresponding upward review of pensions for their members.
“This shouldn’t have been the case. This oversight, or do we call it maltreatment of the Senior Citizens, is a flagrant contravention and disobedience to the provisions of Sections 173(3) and 210(3) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which unambiguously stipulates that “Pensions shall be reviewed every five years, or together with any federal/state salary reviews, whichever is earlier”.
“The above constitutional provision has always been violated as it is hardly observed or adhered to by the same authorities that signed it into law. It is on the strength of the above, and in the interest of peace and industrial harmony that we present our humble stand/demands to the Federal Government on the non-inclusion of the Pensioners’ Union on the Tripartite Committee for immediate consideration.
“That as a mark of honour and respect for the Senior Citizens (pensioners) of this great country who had given their best during their prime age, call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who in our opinion holds the Nigerian pensioners in high esteem to as a matter of urgency appoints the leadership of the Union to serve in the Committee just like we have leaderships of the NLC standing for the workers in the Public Service, TUC representing the interest of the Private Sector Workers, and other interest groups such as the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) etc representing various interests in the country.
“it is therefore dangerous and insensitive to exclude the pensioners from such Committee that is given the mandate to decide the fate of Nigerians of different socio-economic interest groups. Infact, it is like shaving a man’s head in his absence. As a matter of fact, in our opinion, the review of any National Minimum Wage should always go pari-pasu with the review of the National Minimum Pension, as workers and pensioners belong to the same Civil Service family with similar characteristics and needs.
“It may sound incredible and absurd, but it is the naked fact that many of our members across the states of the Federation are still earning as low as N500, N1,000 as monthly pensions, particularly, in the South-East states of Nigeria. Others are Borno State N4000, Gombe N8,000, Jigawa N12,000, Katsina N7,000, Kogi N5000, Kwara N3000, Niger N4,000, Taraba N5,000, Yobe N4,500, Zamfara N3,000, Nasarawa N4,000, Osun N10,000, Ondo N3,000, Oyo N5,400, Enugu N450, Adamawa N2000, Kano N5,000”.
