THE NIGERIA Union of Pensioners (NUP) has demanded of the federal government to include their members in the tripartite committee on the national minimum wage review.
The NUP also allege that many of its members are dying due to hardship caused by the economic downturn, which has led to high cost of living in the country.
Comrade Godwin Abumisi, National President of NUP, made the demand at a news conference addressed by the union on Thursday in Abuja.
Comrade Abumisi urged President Bola Tinubu to, as a matter of necessity and urgency, include the union in the committee.
According to him, when the news of constituting the wage review committee was announced by the federal government, it was applauded by the NUP.
“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. The section 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,” he said.
“This was with the high hope that NUP will be represented in such a high-powered committee to offer their voice to the negotiation as well as make a case for their members.
“We were anticipatory bearing in mind that pensioners are workers in retirement who go to the same market for their daily needs. More so, we feel that the pensioners’ union should be carried along during negotiations on 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,” he said.
He said they were using the forum to protest and register their displeasure with the constitution of the committee in a way that undermined the relevance of the union.
Abumisi argued that although, NUP is a member of the organised labour family, hut its interest will not be sufficiently catered for in the absence of its members
“Previous experiences had shown that pensioners had always been left to their fate in the series of wage reviews and negotiations.
“It is not until our local union (NUP) will have to struggle overtime to press for a corresponding upward review of pensions for their members.
“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. The section 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,” he said.
The NUP president therefore urged that in the interest of peace and industrial harmony, President Tinubu should appoint the leadership of the union to serve in the committee.
He contended that any review of national minimum wage should always be done together with the review of the national minimum pension.
According to him, workers and pensioners belong to the same civil service family with similar characteristics and needs.
1,500 Members Dead
Speaking on the impact of the economic hardship on pensioners, Comrade Abumisi stated that many members of NUP are dying due to hardship caused by the economic downturn.
NUP, he said, has lost about 1,500 of its members in recent times due to economic hardship and high cost of living in the country.
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According to him, “it is not in our power to distribute food items to pensioners in Nigeria, we do not have the resources. In Nigeria, government do not think about the poor people. Otherwise, how can pensioners in Enugu receive as low as N450 as monthly pension and we have been saying this but it seems as if we are crying wolf but it is a reality,” he said.
The NUP president said that many members across the country were also still earning as low as N500 and N1,000 as monthly pensions, especially in the South-East states.
Abumis listed the states to include Borno N4,000, Gombe N8,000, Jigawa N12,000, Katsina N7,000, Kogi N5,000, Kwara N3,000, Niger N4,000, and Taraba N5,000 among others.
“It is important to highlight here that the above pension rates are as low as shown above due to non-harmonisation of pensions which the union has always made a case for.
“This is also due to non-implementation and payment of the previously reviewed N18,000 minimum wage in 2010 and the N30,000 minimum wage in 2019 by many states of the federation.
“Sadly, the non-implementation of these salary reviews in the states has affected the corresponding increases in pensions in the various states under reference.
“The union takes exception to and disagree with the untenable excuses by the state governments that they cannot afford the implementation and payment of the previous wage reviews,” he said.
He said that with the increase in federal allocation to states by the present administration, it was unacceptable and unpardonable.
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According to him, in the interest of fairness and justice, NUP will propose N100,000 as the National Minimum Pension to the Tripartite Committee in line with the proposed N200,000 National Minimum Wage by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
Abumis said that anything short of that would incur the wrath of the pensioners who were hard-hit by the prevailing economic hardship occasioned by the ever-rising cost of living
He, however, reiterated the union’s call to be included in the tripartite committee on national minimum wage.
“I want to make it clear; I am going to led Nigerian pensioners on a protest so that the world will see that pensioners are suffering. “We have the authority of our members to call for a mass protest across the country, particularly in the capital city of Abuja if our demands are not addressed by the Federal Government.” (NAN)
