Following the end of the Minimum Wage saga between the federal government and labour union, the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) have also voiced their demand, urging the federal and states government to take into consideration using the new minimum wage of ₦70,000 as a framework for reviewing Pension emoluments in view of the current state of the economy. Chief Godwin Abumis, the National President of the NUP, who made the statement in Abuja during a press conference, urged President Bola Tinubu to act swiftly to lessen the financial burden Nigerians are experiencing as a result of the recent increase in fuel price.
The Union laments that the elimination of Subsidies most severely affected Nigerian retirees and other marginalized groups. According to Chief Abumis, the circumstances had led to hyperinflation and an increase in the cost of products and services, which had a detrimental impact on people from all socioeconomic backgrounds. The NUP President bemoans the fact that pensioners are complaining and wallowing in utter destitution, which was exacerbated by the needless, unabated hike in fuel prices that has rendered their meager monthly pensions worthless. He added that the NUP, which is their only voice, is frequently disregarded by the ruling class.
New minimum wage ought to be applied equitably.
Abumis also bemoaned the Federal Government’s inability to provide retirees with the ₦25,000 in palliative care that was promised to them. According to the NUP president, it would be unfair to approve over 100 percent salary increment for workers and give retirees less in the same economy. All wage earner groups are in similar circumstances and face similar economic challenges, the new minimum wage ought to be applied equitably. He stated that since the retirees are no longer employed, they ought to get a minimal living allowance.
Periodically, the government examines pensions to account for changes in the Cost Of Living and inflation; it frequently does this by comparing pensions to the minimum wage. When the minimum wage was raised to ₦30,000 in 2019, for instance, pensioners also saw their benefits reviewed to reflect the higher wage, even though the full effect of the change was delayed. Section 173(3) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution stipulates that pension reviews must take place “every five years or in conjunction with any federal Civil Service salary reviews, whichever is earlier.”
NSIWC has been involved in adjusting pensioners’ payments.
This provision guarantees that pension benefits under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) for retirees are updated on a regular basis to account for shifts in living expenses and the overall state of the economy. According to the provision in the constitution, this responsibility falls on the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC). The commission has been involved in adjusting pensioners’ payments, but the adjustments have sometimes appeared arbitrary or inconsistent, leading to concerns among pensioners about the fairness and adequacy of the increases.
Reports over the years have indicated that the NSIWC has increased pensioners’ benefits by varied percentages, which has given rise to opinions that these adjustments are arbitrary or lack a defined rationale. For example, whilst many pensioners saw rises of 33 percent, others received different rates. The absence of clarity on the standards applied to these modifications has left pensioners perplexed and unsatisfied. The NSIWC’s efforts to guarantee equity in pension payments by harmonizing the pensions of older retirees with those of younger pensioners who retired on higher compensation scales have been sluggish and fraught with difficulties, such as administrative roadblocks and funding shortages.
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Till now, pensioners’ organizations and unions have persisted in calling for more frequent, justified and significant modifications to pension payments to keep pace with rising living expenses and inflation. The NSIWC has acknowledged that it is conscious of these requests and that it will make every effort to uphold the constitutional requirement for pension reviews. However, actualizing these changes remains a difficult and continuous process. As was the case in 2019, the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission is anticipated to make the necessary adjustments to pensions after the minimum wage was raised to ₦70,000.