Informal Workers Demand Inclusion in Pension Scheme

Informal workers in the nation’s economy are demanding the expansion of the scope of the Pension Act 2004 to include workers in the sector.

 

The group made the demand in Lagos at the Trade Union Leadership Training for Informal Workers Workshop organised by the Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisation of Nigeria (FIWON .

 

General Secretary of FIWON, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, who canvassed the union’s position said the scheme should allow informal workers to contribute a stipulated amount commensurate with their income while state government will complete the payment on 50:50 basis to reflect civil and other formal sector workers’ contributory pensions schemes.

 

He  also stressed the need for expansion of the scope of the National Health Insurance Scheme Decree 35, 1999 to include informal workers’ need for health and accident insurance.

 

Speaking on ‘Negotiation and Collective Bargaining in the Informal Economy: Towards Social Protection for Informal Workers’, Komolafe said the social insurance policies and programmes,  if well implemented,  will make a major contribution towards achieving the goal of poverty reduction in the country.

 

According to him, the absence of any form of social protection or social safety nets for informal sectors in Nigeria is attested to by the fact that the 2004 Pension Act completely excluded informal workers.

 

This, he explained, contravenes several local and international covenants that provide  for social protection of all human beings and their citizenship within the context of a nation-state.

 

“The fact that over 50 per cent of the total population is officially poor should be of major concern to policy makers. Most if not all of these poor people are in the informal economy without access to any form of social security. The absence of any form of social protection or social safety nets for informal sectors in Nigeria is attested to by the fact that the 2004 Pension Act completely excluded informal workers.

 

“This contravenes several local and international covenants that define the humanity of all human beings and their citizenship within the context of a nation-state. The progressive realisation implies that the state should, in general, avoid any deliberate regressive measures reducing the scope of the coverage (the number of people having access to social security) or the quality of the services supplied within the social security system,” he said.

source : Thisday