The federal government says organised labour has the duty to enforce compliance with the minimum wage payments by state governments following the inability of some states to pay.

George Akume, secretary to the government of the federation, said this on Thursday in Abuja at the end of a two-day Pre-retirement Summit organised by XEM Consulting Ltd.

Mr Akume said, “So, as we are discussing paying pension, I will also throw it back to labour; you have the duty to enforce the compliance of these laws; it is not just the question of complaining. You should be able to come in to ensure the compliance of these laws by the relevant stakeholders.”

Mr Akume added, “Federal government can come up with a policy and issue circulars, but then the onus lies on those who are monitoring the implementation, to ensure that lack of compliance should be sanctioned.

“Whether it is minimum wage or pension, the best law that can be made is the law you can enforce; if you make an omnibus law that you cannot enforce, that law is good as nothing.”

According to Mr Akume, the federal government has initiated many reform programmes that will lift people out of poverty shortly, but Nigerians should be patient while it materialises.

NLC president Joe Ajaero regretted that the current pension scheme fell short of taking care of Nigeria’s ageing population.

Mr Ajaero said, “Nigerian workers before and after retirement are faced with challenging life situations; the lump sum payment should be increased by at least 50 per cent.

“Together, we can create a system that assures workers a retirement period of joy and not trepidation; the theme of this summit resonates with the present-day workforce.”

The NLC leader added, “Retirement under the current pension scheme may become a death sentence for many; many questions fill the minds of workers post-retirement as regards the pension scheme.

“Inadequate pension benefits, inflation, rising cost and the financial contributions made pre-retirement difficult to match the current monetary values at post-retirement.”

Folashade Yemi-Esan, head of the civil service of the federation, said her office was working on remodelling the existing health insurance programme to accommodate retirees.

Ms Yemi-Esan said, “Presently, on your retirement day, the next thing that happens to your National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) enrolment is that it stops. But we are working on insurance; when she came in, she told us to start the drive. I come from a part of the system where we treat them when they are retired.”

She added, “NLC president mentioned the military having retirement camps; the military also had health care schemes for retirees; you just appear in the hospital, and all we need to see is that they are treating you. 

“We need to collaborate as civil servants and public servants so that the new policies that we are trying to formulate will work; we must be ready to believe in it.’’

(NAN