THE Federal Civil Service Pensioners Branch (FCSPB) has called on the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) to cease sending its monthly check-off dues and other entitlements to its mother afflict body, the Nigeria Union of Pensioners.
FCSPB therefore, demanded remittance of its monies directly to its coffers.
FCSPB further alleged that the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has shortchanged it, amounting to over N200 million, insisting that its allocation be given to it directly like other unions affiliated to the NUP.
The National Chairman, FCSPB, of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Comrade Sunday Omezi, speaking to journalists at the Sectoral National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja, alleged that the NUP reneged on the Memorandum of Understanding it had with his union to pay all outstanding allocations and other entitlements.
According to him, all the efforts made by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and the President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for NUP to release withheld allocations and entitlements of the Federal Civil Service Pensioners Branch, did not yield positive results.
Comrade Omezi, who further alleged that NUP had been shortchanging his union for the past four years, said NUP finally stopped allocations to his union in April this year.
He said, “We are having issue with the NUP because they are owing us. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment had intervened and the NUP refused to oblige to the Memorandum of Understanding we signed at the instance of the Ministry of Labour on the release of our money. And because of this, we didn’t have any alternative than to approach the court.
“Rule 4 of our constitution says that we should collect our money from the source like other affiliated bodies under NUP. By source, I mean collecting our money directly from Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD).
“It is only the Federal Civil Service Pensioners Branch that NUP collects its money from source on its behalf. This is wrong and contrary to our constitution. And we are saying NUP should leave us to collect our money directly from source but NUP is fighting against that, saying Labour Act does not allow that. If Labour Act does not allow that, then other affiliated bodies too should not be collecting their money from the source. We are already in court to seek redress over the issue.
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“We have approached PTAD on the issue. We have written letters and given our account number requesting that we should be treated like other affiliated bodies but PTAD has refused, saying that is what they met on ground.
“The Rule 4 of our constitution says that we should collect our money directly from PTAD and give to NUP. Then NUP will now give us 55 per cent of the amount, give the Nigerian Labour Congress 10 per cent and they will take 35 per cent. That is what our constitution says.
“The Memorandum of Understanding that we signed with NUP that had myself, the president of NUP, my secretary, NUP General Secretary, Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, among others in attendance was that they would pay us our money.”
“The Ministry of Labour said if they are owing us, they should pay us and one of their reasons was that they used out accrued arrears to build their office, their national secretariat and we told them that the office they are claiming to have used our money to build was commissioned in March, 2018 while we came on board in July, 2018. So there was no way they could have used our money to build their office at the time they claimed.”
