Frustration, anguish and lamentation could be seen on their faces when retired military men gathered to draw public attention to their plight over non-payment of three years pension arrears. They had served the nation with youthful and productive lives fighting for the survival and unity of Nigeria.

NEWLY elected President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, Bobboi Bala Kaigama, has spoken about his determination to work with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and all TUC members as one family to lift up the living standards of Nigerian workers and other underprivileged groups in the country.

FOR over a decade, the office of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung has been a rallying point for non-governmental organizations. FES assignment in Nigeria has been essentially about promoting and sustaining democracy and this it has done by working with non-governmental organizations, the media, trade unions, women and other civil society groups. It was therefore not surprising when a similar programme was organized to bid farewell to the former resident representative, Mr. Thomas Mattig and welcome Mrs. Seija Sturies, the first female resident representative of the FES in Nigeria.

RECENTLY, Labour Vanguard published the first part of Comrade Sylvester Ejiofoh response to its story on takeover of trade unions by bourgeois labour leaders. Today’s edition of Labour Vanguard is the concluding part of the interview.

THE National Pension Commission, PenCom, is presently verifying for employees of Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, that are Treasury-Funded, ahead of their retirement next year.

HE argued that even the Pension Reform Task Team, PRTT, set up to bring some sanity to the system, worsened the plight of the pensioners. Ndoma-Egba added that the thrust of the bill was to overhaul the entire structure and the scheme of pension administration in the country including, “the establishment of a uniform set of rules, regulations and standards for the administration and payment of retirement benefits for the public service in all tiers of government and the private sectors, thus, making provisions for the smooth operations of the contributory pension scheme and ensuring that every worker receives his retirement benefits as and when due.”

IF the amendment to the Pension Reform Act, PRA, 2004, by the Senate sails through, total contributions by both employers and employees to the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS will be increased to 20 percent as against 15 percent currently being contributed.

RECENTLY, IndustriAll Global Union affiliates in Nigeria gathered at the National Secretariat of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Lagos, at a one day workshop to mark the World Day for Safety and Health.

In the trade union movement, Peters Adeyemi is a name that rings a bell. Officially, he is the General Secretary of the Non- Academic Staff Union of Educational And Associated Institutions, NASU, and until 20011, a Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC . He served in that capacity from 2007 to 2011. At the international level, he is serving the Public Services International based in France as the President for Africa and the Vice- President, International.

WITH globalisation, the world of work witnessed a new trend in employer- employee relationship. Out-sourcing became a new trend with employers outsourcing jobs which they consider not to crucial to their core business. From the perspective of organised labour, it was seen as the employers way of reducing the cost of labour.