The Nigeria Labour Congress has commended the Federal Government for remitting N7.45 billion accrued rights and benefits into the retirement savings accounts of federal retirees covering April and May 2019.
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, described the development as a responsible move by the government “considering the adversity imposed on our retirees and pensioners by the novel coronavirus pandemic.”
Wabba in a letter addressed to the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, dated July 14 titled, ‘Remittance of accrued benefits of federal civil servants to the retirees’ retirement saving accounts,’ urged the government to also consider the payment of retirees from June 2019 and July 2020.
It read, “We write to commend the Federal Government for its recent decision to release the total sum of N7.45bn accrued rights and benefits into the RSA of Federal retirees covering April and May 2019.
“This responsive and responsible move by the Federal Government has come at a very critical time considering the adversity imposed on our retirees and pensioners by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Meanwhile, Ayuba has called for the implementation of the International Labour Organisation centenary declaration which calls for universal access to social protection for all workers and emphasizes the continued relevance of the employment relationship as a means of providing certainty and legal protection to workers.
Speaking at an ILO virtual summit on Tuesday, the NLC President stressed the urgent need to institutionalize a Global Fund for Universal social protection to enable the poorest nations to respond to the pandemic and to build resilience for the future.
He said, “Already, some $10 trillion has been pledged by governments and international financial institutions for economic recovery. According to pre-crisis estimates, a Global Fund for Universal Social Protection would need some $37.8bn for the first five years to close the financing gaps. This represents a small fraction of the total global funding to build recovery and resilience.”
