The Cross River State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has clarified its position on the proposed contributory pension scheme by the state government, noting that they are not inherently opposed to the concept, but rather seek proper engagement and understanding of its details..
Mr. Lawrence Achuta, State Vice Chairman of the NLC, revealed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Calabar.
He stated that Governor Bassey Otu, during the celebration of his 100 days in office, said the state needed approximately N24 billion to clear the backlog of gratuities and pensions for retired civil servants.
Achuta said that the governor proposed the contributory pension scheme in collaboration with financial institutions, but workers rejected the idea.
Achuta urged the government to engage with workers before introducing the scheme, stressing the necessity to understand the processes, conditions, and benefits attached to it.
He stressed that the workers needed a comprehensive orientation about the concept, the laws supporting it, and its overall implications.
“It is not that the workers totally rejected the scheme, but there are some issues that must be resolved and understood,” he explained. “It has not been done.”
He expressed concern about the general handling of contributory pension schemes in Nigeria, citing issues such as deductions from salaries without corresponding availability of funds at retirement.
He further noted the “right of accrual” for workers who have served for a certain number of years before migrating to the contributory pension scheme.
Achuta sais the NLC’s position that the state should not hastily implement a contributory pension scheme without addressing all its components and ensuring workers are fully oriented.
However, when contacted, Mr. Erasmus Ekpang, Rivers Commissioner for Information, affirmed that the state government had not abandoned the planned contributory pension scheme.
Ekpang assured that the state was working on modalities to ensure the effective implementation of the scheme.
“The program is still in the pipeline; these things don’t just happen. We are still working on areas to make the scheme workable,” he said.
(NAN)
