By Michael Oche
The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has protested the exclusion of retired workers from the Federal Government’s newly approved N70,000 monthly transport allowance for serving public servants, demanding President Bola Tinubu’s intervention.
The union also called on the Federal Government to pay the outstanding N75,000 palliative promised to eligible vulnerable pensioners under its October 2023 agreement with organised labour.
The National President of NUP, Comrade Godwin Abumisi, made the demands while addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, describing the exclusion of pensioners from the transport allowance as unjust, given the economic challenges confronting retired workers.
Abumisi said pensioners also depend on public transportation to access hospitals, attend medical appointments, purchase food and meet other essential needs.
He noted that many retirees had no source of income beyond their pensions, which were often inadequate to meet their basic needs amid rising living costs.
While acknowledging the importance of improving the welfare of serving workers, the union president argued that pensioners who devoted their productive years to national service should not be neglected in government policies aimed at easing economic hardship.
The union questioned the rationale for excluding retirees from the transport allowance, insisting that they faced similar, and in many cases more difficult, economic circumstances than serving workers.
It maintained that the welfare of serving workers and pensioners should not be treated as competing interests, urging the government to extend the allowance to eligible retirees or introduce an equivalent support measure to address their transportation costs.
The NUP also expressed concern that the interests of pensioners were not adequately considered during negotiations over the allowance.
It questioned why representatives of serving workers did not press for corresponding relief for their retired colleagues, many of whom spent decades contributing to the public service.
The union described the situation as reflecting the “insensitivity of civil servants to the plight of their former colleagues, now retired, who they will eventually join in the retirement ship.”
It urged organised labour and other stakeholders to recognise that retirement was an eventual reality for every serving worker and that protecting pensioners’ welfare was also an investment in the future security of those still in employment.
The union also raised concerns over the Federal Government’s failure to fulfil its commitment to provide financial relief to vulnerable pensioners under the October 2, 2023, Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC).
According the national president, paragraph eight of the agreement provided for a monthly payment of N25,000 for three months, beginning in October 2023, to 15 million households, including vulnerable pensioners.
The arrangement amounted to N75,000 for each eligible beneficiary over the three-month period.
However, the union said the promised support remained outstanding for vulnerable pensioners covered by the agreement, demanding an explanation from the Federal Government on the status of the commitment.
It specifically called on the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, under the leadership of Dr Bernard M. Doro, to explain the steps taken to implement the agreement, identify obstacles hindering payment and provide a definite timeline for resolving the matter.
The NUP said agreements reached between the Federal Government and organised labour should not be allowed to remain unfulfilled, particularly when they concern vulnerable citizens struggling with the effects of petrol subsidy removal.
The union urged Tinubu to intervene urgently to ensure that pensioners received fair consideration in government welfare policies.
It further demanded meaningful consultations with pensioners’ representatives whenever the government and organised labour negotiated welfare measures that could affect retirees.
The union also called for sustained protection of pensioners’ welfare through timely payment of pensions and other entitlements, alongside measures to cushion the effects of inflation and rising transportation, healthcare and food costs.
The NUP warned that it would continue to pursue all legitimate and lawful avenues to protect the rights and welfare of its members if the government failed to address its demands.
Abumisi said retired workers deserved to have their dignity protected and should not be abandoned after years of service to the country.
