The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has proposed raising the retirement age for civil officials and the number of years of service in the whole public sector to 65.
The demand was made by NLC President Joe Ajaero on Monday during the 2023 Workers’ Day festivities in Abuja.
Ajaero also advocated for a general review of core civil worker salaries in order to close the pay gap between other civil servants and those in other sectors of the public sector.
He stated that the extension of years of service should be distributed equally, as it had been done in other sectors of the country’s public service.
“Only a few other establishments remain, including the core civil service.”
“We are, therefore, demanding that the age of retirement and length of service in the entire public service, including the civil service, be reviewed upward to 65 years of age and 40 years of service, ” he said.
Ajaero said that the union had, over the years, demanded salary review but had yet to receive Federal Government’s attention.
“It is necessary to recall that we have continued over the years to demand that the salaries of core civil servants be beefed up to narrow the gap between their emoluments and those in other segments of the public service.
Editorial: How Biafra Will Crash In One Month
“They all possess the same educational qualifications and cognate experience on the job. So why the disparity?” Ajaero queried.
On gratuity payment, the NLC president said union leaders had, on several occasions, presented the issue to the government without any positive response.
“Fellow comrades, we have consistently presented the issue of gratuity payment to the government but nothing has been done in that regard.
“As you are all aware, the concept of gratuity payment to employees is predicated on the fact that those who have laboured for public institutions or private enterprises are entitled to the proverbial golden handshake from their employers.
“Thus, gratuity is a monetary benefit given by an employer to his/her employee at the time of retirement without the worker making any financial contribution whatsoever to the fund,” he said.
According to him, such a lump sum is meant to enable the retiree finance any post-retirement endeavour of his/her choice.
“The Pension Act did not abolish gratuity payment and we demand its restoration in many public sectors where it has been stopped, ” the labour leader said.
Follow us on facebook
Post Disclaimer
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author and forum participants on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Anaedo Online or official policies of the Anaedo Online.