JNC Exposes Unremitted N49b Pension Fund Deducted From Workers By Ogun Government
By ABIODUN JIMOH, ABEOKUTA
The Joint Public Service Negotiating Council has exposed that the monetary value of the deducted but not remitted fund particularly from the state employees by the Ogun State government was well above forty nine billion naira (N49bn), continuity of which is still being experienced.
Comrade Folorunsho Olanrewaju, Chairman of the Council made this revelation at a media briefing held on Monday at the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), Ogun State Council Secretariat, Abeokuta to express their disgust at the recently passed Pension Reform Law 2020 by the State House of Assembly.
Angered by the surreptitious and hurried move in repealing the pervious law and the passing of the new law in less than 48 hours, the Council hereby gave Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun seven days ultimatum to reverse the law or face the aftermath effect of industrial harmony in the state.
Comrade Olanrewaju alongside other members expressed disappointment at the hurriedly passed law by the Assembly, stressing that the state government acted in clear contravention of the International Labour Organization Convention 154 (1981).
He described the action of the governor as immoral and unconstitutional, adding that it was not right for a party to ultimately take a decision in the absence of other stakeholders.
He said: “Last week, the news filtered out that Ogun State House of Assembly enacted a new Pension Reform Law 2020 to make provision for the uniform Contributory Pension Scheme for all employees in the public service of Ogun State regardless of their grade levels.
“It is pertinent to mention that the law was made in 2006 and amended in 2013. The state government has gone ahead through the Assembly to repeal the reform law of 2006 and enacted a new law despite the fact that the pension reform law of 2006 was a product of collective bargaining.
“What is more suspect was the surreptitious and hurried move in repealing the pervious law and the passing of the new law in less than 48 hours.
“And to say the House of Assembly that represents the interest of the entire citizenry allowed the passage of the killer law without recourse to the applicable protocols and decency of democracy is most unfortunate.
“Government has consistently run against the interest of the public servants in the state. In the last nine years, and still counting, the contributory pension scheme supposedly introduced as one stop solution to the highly overloaded pension system in the state has not, in any guise been pursued by the state government with clear conscience.
“The monetary value of the deducted but not remitted fund particularly from the state employees is well above N49bn, continuity of which is still being experienced.
“Council therefore demand the immediate reversal of the new pension law within seven days as it is totally rejected, failure which the entire labour movement of Ogun State cannot guarantee industrial harmony in the state.
“With this unilateral action of state government, the Council has lost confidence in the Government-Labour Consultative Forum set up to look into the welfare of workers.”
