By Joan Nwagwu
The Federal Civil Service Pensioners (FCSP) has staged a protest to compel the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Dingyadi, to intervene in a lingering dispute with its parent body, National Union of Pensioners (NUP).
During the peaceful protest held at the FCSP Abuja branch office on Monday, the pensioners urged the minister to urgently wade in, to resolve the trade dispute.
Addressing newsmen, Mr Itiona Shaku-Nor, National Assistant Secretary of the FCSP, said the issues in contention included the unlawful dissolution of the duly elected National Executive of the FCSP, Abuja branch, and appointment of a caretaker committee by the NUP to oversee the affairs of the branch.
He also alleged unlawful deduction of 55 per cent statutory allocation from check-off dues of the branch by the national union.
Shaku-Nor recalled that, former Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, intervened in the dispute which led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NUP and FCSPB on Oct. 2, 2024.
“This MoU is yet to be implemented by the Office of the Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations (TUSIR), in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
“We have written severally to the Office of the Minister as far back as 2024, about the dispute, without any response.
“Our investigation revealed that all our letters to the Minister ended up in the Office of the Director of TUSIR,” he added.
Also speaking, Mr Sunday Omezi, outgoing Chairman of FCSPB, alleged NUP of creating a “kangaroo executive” to polarise the branch.
He alleged that the NUP violated Rule 12-A of its constitution by handpicking three officers, instead of the required nine through voting.
“There was no election anywhere. They handpicked people from states,” he said.
Omezi, therefore, called for urgent government intervention to restore order and address the alleged marginalisation in the branch.
Some of the placards carried by the protesters read: “Hon. Minister of Labour, we need your urgent intervention in our dispute with NUP now”; “Director, Trade Union Services, stop blocking our correspondence to the Minister,” among others.