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The Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) has called on the National Assembly to redress the
current rate of employers contributions into the contributory pension
scheme, asking that it should be reviewed upward whenever the Act comes
up for review in the parliament.

The congress, in
communiqué issued at the end an interactive session it held with the
National Pension Commission (PenCom) in Ibadan, said it reviewed the
most pertinent issues affecting workers in relation to the
implementation of the Pension Reform Act (PRA), 2004.

The general
secretary of the Labour group, John E. Odah, said that the group has
accepted and would continue to support the Contributory Pension Scheme
(CPS), but said “that there were still some challenges in the
implementation of the CPS.”

At the conclusion
of the meeting, the Congress said “the clarification by PenCom that the
PRA has not abolished gratuity and that it (gratuity) was a matter of
collective bargain that must be respected by the employers, in
accordance with agreed terms and conditions of employment.”

It, however, called
for government intervention in pension management for public sector
workers, claiming that “existing pensioners in the public sector were
not paid their pensions, as and when due. Government should take
necessary steps to ensure that pensions are paid timely.”

Work with workers

The meeting also
called on state governments to carry the workers along in the
implementation of the CPS, and noted with concern the agitation by the
military to withdraw from the scheme. It calls on the National Assembly
to further examine the implications of the withdrawal.

“Even countries in
Africa that are less endowed than Nigeria, employers’ contribution are
higher than that of the employee,” the NLC said.

“The current rate of contributions in section 9 of the Act is not in tandem with international best practices,” the body added.