United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC, has pleaded with the federal and state governments to immediately pay the nation’s senior citizens ...
United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC, has pleaded with the federal and state governments to immediately pay the nation’s senior citizens all arrears of pensions and other benefits.
The body insists that the welfare of the pensioners at the trying period is very critical, saying “It is important that we address the issue of our Pensioners who are retired workers both in the Public and Private sectors of the nation’s economy especially as we battle the coronavirus, COVID-19 Pandemic.
President of ULC, in a statement, said “We believe that within our context, pensioners are one of the most vulnerable groups in our nation as they are of course people with old men and women most of who have become infirm as a result of age and therefore can no longer fend for themselves and their loved ones.\
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We strongly suggest that the palliative regime be extended to them without bias. Every pensioner ought to have unfettered access to the palliatives.
Cash Transfers should be extended to them as they need it more than any other segment of the nation.
“Every arrear of payment to them must be fully paid immediately. We, therefore, urge the federal government to mandate the state governments who are heavily indebted to pensioners to pay up immediately in the spirit of our collective effort to defeat the Pandemic with fewer casualties.
The Contributory Pensions Union and the Federal Pensions Union that are the affiliates of the ULC have complained variously about this apparent oversight and neglect of the welfare of their members by the various governments.
“We propose that steps be taken immediately as the report we are getting is worrying and the need for mitigating actions has become imperative to avoid deaths within their ranks.
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Such actions should be coupled with a dialogue between governments at all levels with the unions in the sector to create a roadmap for continuous successful engagements.
“Once again, we reiterate that the idea behind the Pension scheme is to protect the Pensioners in a situation like this. It is, therefore, our duty to protect the Pensioners to give meaning to the Pension Act.
The government must demonstrate urgency unless it is not serious about successfully combating the COVID-19 outbreak.
The post Pay senior citizens their entitlements ULC urges FG, states appeared first on Vanguard News.
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