Unions To Protest Against Plights Of Pensioners

The leadership of the
nation’s labour unions namely Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), are set to protest the plights of pensioners in the country.
Speaking to newsmen  recently, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Comrade Abel Afolayan, said the unions have concluded necessary arrangements for the  planned protest.
Afolayan said  with the involvement  of these two  labour giants in the protest, it is certain that all Nigerian workers who are praying to be pensioners some day would join the union on sympathy ground in the nationwide protest.
He said the nationwide protest was expected to have taken place, March 31, but stressed that it was put on hold because of the volatile security  situation in the country.
The union boss said the union  would have commenced the protest in the six geo-political  zones but later put into consideration the  security  challenge  of the country for now and shifted the protest to avoid hoodlums cashing  in on the union’s protest to cause mayhem.
He said the union will seek the support of the NLC , TUC, the media and all Nigerians to organise a protest that had never been witnessed in the country.
Afolayan  said efforts so  far made by the union towards finding solution to pensioners problems had so far proved fruitless and  had therefore failed to satisfying the yearnings of pensioners.
He pointed out that the pensioners’  unmet demands include, outstanding arrears  and gratuity  due to federal and state pensioners, outstanding 33 per cent pension increase  and its arrears which  have been implemented for military pensioners but  still remained to be implemented for  civil pensioners.
He praised the government of Ondo state for  being pensioners’ friendly.
The labour  leader  decried  the non-challant  attitude  towards  pensioners welfare  by many state governments with the exception  of a few states.
He said the ill-treatment  of federal parastatals and private-sector pensioners resulting in the non-harmonisation of  pensions, and non-approval of minimum pension for pensioners all call for concerted  efforts and prayers of Nigerians.
Afolayan called on the  government to address the issue of primary school  pensioners ill-treatment by the state government, stressing that there is an urgent need to address the issue of pensioners’  verification and the controversial issue of ghost pensioners.
He urged the government to look into the problem associated with the contributory  pension scheme  that had  resulted in the non-deduction of check-off dues  from pensioners in the scheme.
Philip Okparaji