By VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

THE April 10, 2013 national protest by Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, over the plight the plight of pensioners in the country is already gathering momentum.  Already reports across the country indicated that state councils of NLC had begun moblisation of members for the protest.

Similarly, affiliate industrial unions have equally mobilizing members for the protest which they said was long overdue. An official of Delta State Council of NLC, who spoke to Pension and You on the preparation for the protest, said workers, pensioners and civil society allies were already looking forward to the day of the protest.

It would be recalled that leaders of NLC fixed Wednesday, April 10, 2013, for a nationwide protest that will take workers to Aso Rock and governors’ offices over the plight of pensioners in the country.

At its Central Working Committee, CWC, meeting in Labour House, Abjua, NLC leaders lamented that all efforts to get the attention of Federal Government including two letters to the Presidency for intervention over hardships and suffering of the nation’s senior citizens were of no avail.

In a communiqué issued yesterday by NLC President and Acting General Secretary, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar and Chris Uyot respectively,  NLC leaders decried the on the growing level of corruption and crisis in the pension industry.

According to the communiqué “The CWC after an exhaustive deliberation noted that the Congress had written at least two letters to the Presidency calling for its intervention in the pension crisis; Coupled with the correspondences, the leadership of Congress had reached out through other channels to the Federal Government; the Congress leadership had also made public pronouncements on the avoidable, but painful pension crisis.”

“The CWC noted   dismay that the Presidency neither acknowledged the letters nor responded to the issues the leadership of the Congress publicly raised on the plight of pensioners. that the Congress had exploited all the lawful channels of communication to the government to no avail, despite the unprecedented scam in the Pension regime and the raging war of words between the Executive and the National Assembly, pensioners remain the main victims with a teeming number of pensioners not being paid, congress is that nobody wants to listen to the plight of Pensioners.”

“Worried that the continued silence of the government means more hardship for its members in the fold of the National Union of Pensioners, NUP, and dtoensure justice for its members who are owed billions of pension arrears, the CWC resolved that on Wednesday April 10, 2013, all NLC affiliate unions and State councils across the length and breadth of the country will mobilise workers on a protest march to the Presidency and State Government houses.In pursuance of this objective, the CWC directed NLC affiliate unions, State Councils, friends and allies of organized labour to immediately commence mobilization for the action.”

…JAF, CDWR back protest

THE Joint Action Front, JAF, umbrella body for pro-labour civil society groups, have thrown its weight behind the April 10 national protest to demand payment of pensioners’ benefits that run into years and billions of Naira.

Similarly, Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights, CDWR, whiling supporting the planned protest, said it is in line with its fight against corruption and pension fraud with its associated hardship and inhuman conditions inflicted on pensioners.

JAF in a statement by its Chairperson and Secretary, Dr. Dipo Fashina and Comrade Abiodun Aremu, recalled that JAF had a month ago demanded that Labour should revisit the issue of pension management, following the ridiculous sentence of 2 years imprisonment with an option of N750,000 fine given to a former director of the Police Pensions Board, John Yakubu Yusufu, after he pleaded guilty to charges of stealing N23.3 billion from pension fund.

According to the statement “JAF noted in its previous statement that “governments at all levels in Nigeria, irrespective of the political parties, are entrenched in corrupt atrocities, hence our resolve to the struggle for system change as the only way to rid Nigeria of this class of exploiters and looters, and putting in place a government of the working people and the poor that would be committed to using our collective wealth to better the lots of all Nigerians.

Therefore, the National leadership of JAF has commenced mobilisation and is hereby specifically requesting all its affiliates and members to join forces with the State Councils of NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, in the mobilization of Nigerians for the APRIL 10THmass protest.”

“JAF urges Nigerian traders, students, artisans, women, faith-based groups, professionals, the unemployed, etc to massively participate in the APRIL 10THmass protest against the Pension Scam and unbridled Corruption in the country. Towards this end, JAF will soonest, after due consultation with the NLC, TUC and NUP, hold a media conference to unfold the details of its Programme of Action in the April 10thmass protest.”

On its part, CDWR, in a statement by its Chairman, Rufus Olusesan said “Many pensioners have died in the course of making strenuous efforts to receive their pensions which are usually in backlog of arrears. For instance, one Nigeria Postal Service, NIPOST, retiree slumped and died while protesting alongside other retirees for their 49 month arrears at General Post Office at Ikeja Lagos in 2010. It will be recalled that the same pensioners had to embark on another protest and picketing of all NIPOST offices in January this year having been owed 73 months pension.”

“The CDWR is also opposed to the 2004 Pension Scheme which privatizes pension for federal civil servants and increases the contributions of private sector workers while reducing employers’ contribution. Both the 2004 pension scheme and the previous publicly administered pension are bureaucratically controlled, which gives room for looting. Workers and pensioners should democratically manage funds set aside by employers to meet all retirees’ basic needs, including the payment of gratuity.”

“However, mass protest against corruption alone is not enough to resolve the problems being suffered by workers and pensioners. NLC and TUC must lead a struggle against all anti-labour practices such as casualisation, outsourcingof staff, contract staffing, poor working condition, violation of national minimum wage law, etc.

Many factories and work places, including banks, oil companies carry out these anti-labour practices in connivance with the Ministry of Labour while the trade union centers and leaders turn blind eye. We call on the NLC, TUC and their affiliates to fight all anti-labour practices.”

“We appeal to workers, pensioners, students, traders and other strata of the oppressed to support and join the April 10 mass protest. Members of the CDWR across the federation will actively participate in the mass protest. While we support the mass protest; we hold that only a political victory of the working class people and democratic control and management of resources/funds by workers and consumers will fundamentally put an end to corruption, underdevelopment and poverty in the midst of abundance.

This is one of the reasons we call on the trade union movement to build a mass political party for workers and other oppressed people, which should serve as a vehicle for changing Nigeria in line with an alternative socialist policies and program aimed at creating jobs, paying living wages and pensions, building basic infrastructure, etc.”