By Jude Michael
The Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NUJ), Anambra State Council, Comrade Humphrey Nwafor, KSJI, says the essence of organising the Contributory Pension Scheme Workshop was to sensitize their members on the workings and inherent benefits in the scheme.
Speaking shortly after the workshop held at Horizontal Palace, Opposite Kwata Flyover, Awka, he emphasized that they gathered to brainstorm on the way forward and take a collective decision as organized Labour.
‘All the industrial Unions affiliated to NLC and TUC are here because this issue affects everybody, including the Nigeria Union of Pensioners. They are also here. The state’s Head of Service is here and the Pension Fund Administrators are here also. You will recall that on the 22nd of May, the State Government suspended deductions for Contributory Pension for five months. So, the essence of that is that the Governor also set up a committee to look into the way pension deductions and management are being managed. Because those of the five Unions under the local government system: the NULGE, NASU, Medical and Health, NUT and NANNM, are being deducted and they have the larger number of employees.
‘The 5% that they are paying are being deducted for six years now without remittance to the PFAs. The PFAs are confirming it here. It is not as if we are trying allege or claim. It has been confirmed. The committee that Governor set up equally confirmed our claims.
‘The essence of putting up a Pension Scheme is something that people will rest on after retirement. When the aim is being defeated it shows that there is no need. The purpose is baseless.
‘We are trying to brainstorm with the PFAs and chart a way forward so that whatever we agreed as an organized Labour, we will now to push it back to the Government that this is our position. That is the essence of this workshop. Before now, the organized Labour was saying the PFAs should refund us our money. That we should have a new cut for this programme to work or to function,’ he concluded.
Some of the Union Leaders who attended the event included, the Anambra State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Market Traders Employers of Nigeria, (NUMTEN), Anambra State Council, Comrade Nnamsom Nwafor-Orizu; NUJ, Anambra State Council Chairman, Dr Odogwu Emeka Odogwu; Secretary of NUMTEN, Comrade Great Ikechukwu Ugwuoke; among others
Speeches from the HoS, Barr. Okwy Igwegbe; PFAs representative; TUC Chairman; as well as the presentation of Legend’s Media Personality of the Year Award to the NLC Anambra State Chairman, Nwafor, formed the highpoints of the workshop.
