The Nation Newspaper

Tag: gratuity

  • Over 5,000 PHCN workers owed gratuity, other entitlements

    Over 5,000 PHCN workers owed gratuity, other entitlements

    • Union accuse DisCos, GenCos of under-declaring profits

    Two years after the handover of the 18 successor companies of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to new core investors under the privatisation exercise, over 5, 000 disengaged workers of the defunct power firm are yet to be paid their gratuity, severance and other entitlements, the General Secretary, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) Comrade Joe Ajaero, has said.

    Comrade Ajaero, who is also Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) factional leader, accused government of reneging on its promise to pay the gratuity and pension arrears of PHCN workers two years after privatisation. “As we speak, government has not fulfilled its obligation to pay the gratuity and pension of PHCN workers because each of the about 50, 000 staff of PHCN has one case or the other,” he said.

    The labour leader said, for instance, apart from the fact that over 1, 000 death benefits are yet to be paid to the next-of-kin of workers who died in active service, many former PHCN workers are yet to be paid their leave bonuses by government. Others are also yet to get their housing rent, which, before privatisation was usually paid once a year.

    “We pay bulk housing once in a year. So, if your monthly housing is N10, 000 nobody will pay you the N10, 000 at the end of the month; they will pay you N120, 000 either at the beginning or at the end of the year depending on the category you fall to enable people pay house rent in bulk. So, many people fall under this category and they have not paid them,” Comrade Ajaero stated.

    He also accused the new core investors, the electricity distribution and generating companies (DisCos and GenCos) of short changing the Federal Government through under-declaration of profits and arbitrary tariff increase.

    “They investors are saying they are not making profits and they keep on increasing tariff so that they will equally not allow government to get its own 40 per cent. The 10 per cent meant for the workers, which is contained in the Privatisation Act, that the workers or employees will get equity share of 10 per cent has not been forthcoming two years after yet you are liquidating,” he said.

    Comrade Ajaero said aside the fact that the new investors asked for tariff increase a month or two before privatisation so that they will make profits and government conceded that to them, government has also even been subsidising their operation.

    “Those people are not telling you the truth if they say they are not making profits. If they say they are not making profits it is to make sure they under-declare what they have. Tell them I said they are making maxi1mum profit and I stand to be corrected, but they are under-declaring it. The reason is to make sure they don’t pay the real tax,” he alleged.

    He expressed regrets that government’s failure to meet its obligation with regard to the payment of workers’ entitlements despite signing agreement with the union around June 2012. According to him, peoples’ entitlements were calculated up to that month.

     

  • Akwa Ibom pays over N2b gratuity debt

    Akwa Ibom pays over N2b gratuity debt

    Akwa Ibom State government has paid pensioners, including teachers and local government workers over  N2billion gratuity debt, the state Commissioner for Finance,  Akan Okon has said.

    Okon who to reporters said the money paid covers debt owed between 2002 and 2011. He said the local government pensioners were paid over N900 million while others were paid over N1.2 billion.

    He stated that the state has set machineries in place to join the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    He said: “The state has since the ascendance as of Governor Udom Emmanuel, began the process of joining the CPS. Machinery has been set and the House of Assembly is working on the new law to enable us start the CPS. This government is just two months old and I can tell you that we are really working to make sure that we join them and do what other people are doing.

    “This, notwithstanding, we have been able to clear debts owed pensioners in the state. Teachers and other workers gratuity were not paid for years but we have made it our priority.”

    He said the state is seeking ways to improve its infrastructure by accessing the pension fund under the CPS.

    He stressed that pension fund provides long term funds for infrastructural development, which is why they were at the World Pension Summit recently held in Abuja to showcase the state. He added that oofficials of the state were also at the summit with a view to allowing the pension world see what the state has  done in terms of infrastructure. This, according to him, is with a view to accessing the funding from pension fund to continue with ongoing development programmes of the state government.

    Okon noted that part of the challenges  encountered with the pension system the government inherited was the problem of ghost workers. “We have a peculiar problem. People who were not pensioners were found in the system and we had to undergo a biometric programme to make sure that the right people are in the system while the wrong people are removed,” he said.

  • Kaduna spends N4.7b on pension, gratuity

    Kaduna State Government  said it had spent N4.7 billion on pension and gratuity liability.

    Governor Mukhtar Yero made this known during the distribution of cheques to retirees and families of pensioners in the 23 local governments, local education authorities, Emirate council and chiefdoms in the state.

    According to the Governor, “As at July 2014, I am proud to inform the general public that, we have settled all pension and substantial part of gratuity liabilities totalling N4,747,917,247.52. The balance now left is N1,171,571,663.71 for gratuity, which will be paid as the state finances improve.”

    Yero said his administration inherited huge liabilities of pension arrears for Local Governments pensioners which kept increasing as a result of implementation of the various salary structures and high number of people retiring from the service.

    “This became a major concern of Government considering the plight and the hardship being experienced by the retirees and next of kin of the deceased families.

    “To ameliorate this suffering, the government has resolved to step up action towards cushioning the effect, in spite of paucity of funds in the State.”

    The governor said the state had increased its monthly contributions from N13 million to N65 million, while the 23 local government Councils from N121.8 million to N400.8 million.

    However, 1,080 beneficiaries received cheque worth N642.5 million as accrued pension, death benefits, retirement benefits, pension arrears and arrears for verified pensioners.

  • Lagos pensioners protest non-payment of gratuity

    Lagos pensioners protest non-payment of gratuity

    Pensioners in Lagos State yesterday stormed the office of Governor Babatunde Fashola at Alausa, Ikeja, to protest unpaid pension arrears and gratuity.

    The protesters, who were largely retired teachers and local government workers, carried placards with inscription, such as: “Non-review of the pension law for over 10 years”; “We are tired of unfulfilled promises” and “Except Lagos, other Southwest states have complied with the FG’s directive on the increment of pension”.

    Southwest Chairman of the National Union of Pensioners (NUP) Nojeemdeen Adebayo, who led the protesters, said some of their colleagues have died waiting for their entitlements and some were hospitalised.

    He lamented that the state did not yield to the Federal Government’s directive on pension increment in 2003 and 2007, adding that whenever they demand their fund, the government would plead for more time to pay it.

    Adebayo said rather than pay pensioners, the government was investing in the contributory pension scheme.

    He said: “In 2003, the Federal Government directed states to increase pensioner’s monthly salary by six per cent, but Lagos failed to pay the increment. In 2007, the Federal Government directed that pensioners should be paid 16 per cent increment, but the Lagos State government turned a deaf ear to this.

    “For over four years now, the government has been asking pensioners to be patient, but this has not yielded a solution. That was why we decided to come to the Governor’s Office to demand our rights. We are giving the government two weeks to pay the pension arrears and gratuity.

    “Though the Lagos State government has been paying our monthly pension and we thank the governor for that, we are appealing to him to intervene in the payment of the gratuities of our members, who have been out of service for over 10 years.”

    Commissioner for Information and Strategy Aderemi Ibirogba, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Pension and Establishment, Mrs. Florence Oguntuase, assured the pensioners that they will get all their entitlements.

    Mrs. Oguntuase said: “We are working hard to ensure that the funds are paid, but it is yet to yield the required result. What we are doing is to pay all the current liabilities.

    “When a public servant retires, it takes sometime before the pension begins to roll in. We are paying their pension. When the government started the payment of pension in 2007, local governments did not start until 2010. So this resulted into a shortfall of three years.

    “We realised that those retiring at that time in local governments would not be able to collect their entitlements. As a result of the three-year gap, there was a shortfall of N3.40 billion, so the state government met with the council chairmen to provide the fund for the retirees.

    “The Federal Government has not reimbursed the states and that is what is hindering the payment of gratuity, pension and arrears.”

    Ibirogba assured the pensioners that the government would dialogue with the parties concerned to resolve the problem.

    He said: “You have presented your grievances and we will relate that to the governor, who is not around presently.”