Civil servants demand 65 years retirement age, 40 years in service

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has joined voices with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to call for the upward review of retirement age for employees in the core civil service.

NLC had requested that the age of retirement and length of service in the entire public service, including the civil service, should be reviewed upward to 65 years of age and 40 years of service.

Labour President, Joe Ajaero, had said Labour was neither slowing down nor backing out on its demand made during this year’s May Day celebration.

A statement by Secretary-General of ASCSN, Joshua Apebo, yesterday, said the union had been canvassing upward review of the retirement age for employees in the core civil service since 2015.

He stressed then that most of the organisations attached to the United Nations and a good number of countries have increased civil servants’ retirement age to 65 years.

He listed foreign organisations such as International Labour Organisation (ILO), World Health Organisation (WHO), European Patent Office (EPO), Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Bank for International Settlements, among others that have also increased retirement age to 65 years, while retirement age in NATO is 67 years.

“The retirement age in Germany, Macedonia and Kenya, among others is 65 years, while over 95 per cent of countries of the world have retirement age of well above 60 years.

“Indeed, in South Africa, there is no single compulsory retirement age, except that there is a minimum retirement age of 65 years, but a public servant can continue to work subject to suitability and health requirement,” he said.

Apebo however urged the trade union movement to join the train and ensure uniformity in retirement age in the public service, including the core civil service.