The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, and the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporation and Government-Owned Companies, SSASCGOC, have decried the delay in finalising the pensions for aged seafarers from the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line, NNSL.
At a joint briefing in Lagos, leaders of MWUN and SSASCGOC, the Unions implored the committee tasked with pension verification to submit its report immediately to allow for the timely disbursement of these long-overdue pensions
Speaking at the briefing, the President-General of MWUN, Prince Adewale Adeyanju, lamented that one of their pressing concerns "that we must raise is the delay in finalising the pensions for our aged seafarers from the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line, NNSL.
"The Union implores the committee tasked with pension verification to submit its report promptly to allow for the timely disbursement of these long-overdue pensions. Many of these retired workers are in dire need, and we will not rest until their rightful benefits are delivered."
Recall that MWUN recently informed that it was pushing for a pension buy-out for the affected former employees or their families especially their next-of-kin.
Speaking with Vanguard, the President-General of MWUN, Prince Adewale Adeyanju, said "They have finished the verification of the defunct staff of the Nigerian National Shipping Line, NNSL. It was a tripartite arrangement among the Ministry of Blue Economy, the Nigeria Port Authority, and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA. We are now waiting for the outcome of the report of the verification exercise.
"The exercise should give the actual figure of how many of them have died? How many people are their next of kin, so we can sit down with the government and negotiate their pension benefits? It is negotiable in line with the court judgment. We are waiting and will not allow it to take too long.
"It is one thing for you to do a physical verification and it is another thing for the government to wake up and do the right thing at the right time. The union will still push for more. These people are dying every day. They should be recognized for their services to the country."
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"The court has given a judgment that they should be paid their pensions, so they are entitled to their pension benefits. What the union will trying to do is what we call pension buyouts so that they can uniformly pay them all the same. We don't know the amount until we get to the negotiating table.
