The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has asked the acting chairman, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Ekpo Nta to hurriedly act on the review of pension in line with the new national minimum wage agreed and signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari April last year
NUP General Secretary Comrade Actor Zal in a statement Monday also revealed that the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) had in line with the union’s demand extended its planned removal of names of 23,089 parastatals’ pensioners from the federal government’s payroll; till the end of October 2020.
Comrade Zal said members of the union were not happy with the delay in transmitting the report to the president since it was approved by the NSIWC board.
He appealed to the commission to submit the already approved templates and consequential adjustments by the board of the commission to President Buhari without further delay.
“PTAD had therefore extended the time to the end of October, after which it would remove the names from the payroll,” Zal said.
On the extension of verifications by PTAD, the NUP called on pensioners to check their record and put it right with PTAD, using all the available channels provided.
PTAD in August informed the union of the decision to remove names of parastatals pensioners that did not undergo verification from the government pension payroll.
But the union warned against the move as most of the members may be unaware of the process and asked for more awareness and extension of time to ensure that their facts and records are correct.
“What NUP demanded for then was to give them enough notice and they have given further time now till October ending before they would remove them on the list,” it said.
On the lingering issue of pension review as a result of the new minimum wage that came into existence in April last year, Zal said: “The report has been approved and submitted by the NSIWC board for onward transmission to President Buhari. But the Commission has not taken it to Mr. President for action. We don’t know what is delaying it but I can tell you that the pensioners are not happy with this delay. So, we want the Salaries and Wages Commission to expedite action on it and forward it to Mr. President for action immediately.”
