THE NIGERIAN Labour Congress (NLC) has called for an increase in the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) withdrawal limit, proposing that the threshold be raised from 25 to 50 per cent.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, made the demand during a roundtable discussion with the management of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) in Abuja on Thursday, which held under the theme: “Consolidating the Gains of the Contributory Pension Scheme through Collaboration with Social Partners.”
Ajaero explained that the proposed increase would enable workers to meet critical financial needs such as investments in agriculture, education, and healthcare, especially given the current economic challenges.
He also urged the Federal Government to fully constitute the PenCom Governing Board, warning that the continued absence of a complete board threatened the integrity of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
According to him, while a Chairman is currently in place, the lack of a fully functional board hampers strategic oversight, delays key decisions, and undermines proper governance within such a vital institution.
“Congress is deeply concerned about the continued non constitution of the full board of the PenCom.
“In the absence of this board, how do we ensure the integrity of the commission’s actions until the board is in place,” he said.
Ajaero also demanded for better worker benefits and accountability.
“Firstly, the NLC urged PenCom to leverage technology to significantly reduce the long processing time for retirees to access their entitlements, demanding payments within weeks, not months after retirement.
“Secondly, we propose a formal establishment of a standing NLC-PenCom committee to meet quarterly to proactively address workers grievances.
“Thirdly, they called for immediate regulatory action against ineffective PFAs and defaulting employers, including publishing the names of non-compliant employers and applying stiffer sanctions,” he said.
Ajaero said they were concerns over the proposed amendments to the Pension Reform Act 2014 (PRA2014), that workers were not informed.
The PenCom Director-General (D-G), Mrs Omolola Oloworaran said that the CPS was the most transformative social reform the country had ever seen, saying it had restored confidence and dignity in retirement.
The D-G said that PenCom would be driving several key reforms, including the Pension Revolution 2.0, a bold initiative aimed at expanding coverage, strengthening regulation, and enhancing service delivery.
She said that the discussion also centered on the revised Regulation of Investment of Pension Assets, designed to preserve safety and optimise returns for contributors.
Oloworaran said that the micro-pension scheme had been renamed the “Personal Pension Plan.”
She said that PenCom would share updates on the proposed amendments to the PRA 2014, requesting the NLC’s input.
“The CPS can only remain strong when Nigerian workers believe in it. And how better to improve trust in the system than partnering with the Nigerian Labour Congress, which is closer to the people and who champion the cause of the people as well,” she said.
Oloworaran, while welcoming the NLC delegation earlier, noted that “this relationship is indispensable especially as the commission prepares to intensify its regulatory activities.”
“There will be no PenCom without labour and we need labour to achieve our goals and as we go into full-drive enforcement mode. Labour is a reliable partner that we want to count on,” Oloworaran said.
…Faults Proposed Amendments To NSITF, ECA Acts
Meanwhile, the NLC has faulted the proposed amendments to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA).
Comrade Ajaero described the amendment, pending before the Senate, as “a brazen effort to capture and politicise workers’ funds”
Ajaero stated the NLC’s position at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Labour Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria (LACAN) held on Thursday in Abuja. He said the NLC would resist any plan to divert contributions meant for injured workers and their families.
“This Fund is the lifeblood of workers’ solidarity; it was contributed by workers for their welfare and not as a political slush fund. We will resist this appropriation with every fibre of our being,” he said.
The NLC president urged the National Assembly to halt any move to weaken workers’ protection through anti-labour bills that undermine collective bargaining and decent work standards.
He also faulted the proposed Special Economic Zone laws that would allow some companies to operate outside national labour standards, describing them as a violation of ILO Conventions 87 and 98.
“These laws will create islands of impunity where workers have no voice and no rights,” Ajaero said, urging that labour correspondents to expose such anti-worker policies and defend social justice through objective reporting.
“Comrades of the pen, your recorders and keyboards are as powerful as our placards. Together, we must counter misinformation and defend the dignity of the Nigerian worker,” he said.
Mr Olusoji Oluwole, the President, Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance, and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), also raised concern over the growing casualisation trend in the financial services sector.
Oluwole said over 60 per cent of the operational workforce in Nigerian banks currently consists of contract or outsourced staffers. According to him, it is a practice that started in the early 2000s as a cost-saving measure.
“What began as a temporary measure has now become a permanent feature, with contract workers forming the majority of the workforce,” he said, noting that casual and contract workers often suffer from low pay, poor job security, and lack of access to benefits enjoyed by permanent staff members.
In the same vein, the Managing Director of NSITF, Mr Oluwaseun Faleye, represented by Mrs Bridget Ashang, said the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA) was designed to protect workers, especially in high-risk sectors like oil and gas.
Ashang said the persistence of non-compliance and evasion of contributions by some operators, particularly in the upstream sector, showed dangerous disregard for the law and human life.
She identified outsourcing and casualisation as major challenges complicating enforcement, as they obscure employer liability and leave many injured workers without compensation.
Also speaking, the Director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Office for Nigeria, Dr Vanessa Phala, said poverty and inequality remain living realities for millions of Nigerians.
Phala said decent work remains the most effective route out of poverty, urging governments to prioritise job creation, skills development, and social protection. (NAN)
