At least 2,000 railway workers from the Congo National Railway Company, SNCC, must retire. They have been qualified for some for 7 years but remain active in the company. They therefore receive their salary due to lack of financial resources to pay their final bill. In early March, however, the SNCC managed to retire 250 workers thanks to support from the Congolese government. The situation for SNCC agents is not unique; In almost all state-owned enterprises in the country, workers retire without ever receiving their benefits.
Congo National Railway Company has 12,000 workers, half of whom are over 60 years of age. Some of these railway workers had to retire since 2014, but the process of their departure was delayed due to lack of financial resources specific to the company. The DRC government has thus released $ 4.5 million to fund the retirement of a first group of 255 agents, specifies Victor Umba, president of the trade union delegation to the SNCC. “Everything you saw today, hey, it’s the result of a lot of negotiations that we conducted with the employer and with the government, the owner of the company. In the group of pensioners in 2014, we lost no less than 30 agents who died, and who waited until today. ”
A total of 2,000 railway workers must not only retire, but also receive their allowances from the Social Security Fund. And for that, the SNCC needs significant funding. “We need more or less than $ 77 million,” said Joachim Kakase, director of human resources at SNCC. “In the meantime, it’s a burden on the company. In fact, it’s even hindering the company’s progress. and then recruit young people to rejuvenate society. ”
The last SNCC retirement dates back to 2013 and was funded by the World Bank with a value of $ 20 million. 2,200 pensioners have traveled, but so far they have never received their pension supplement. According to Maître Hubert Tshiswaka, director of the Institute for Human Rights Research, in addition to these retired railway workers in 2013, nearly 7,000 other retirees from other public companies do not benefit from their rights.
“We urge the government to look at the case of the SODIMICO agents as well. They had already paid their employee contributions, which the SODIMICO company has never paid to the Social Security Fund, says Maître Hubert Tshiswaka. There are also GECAMINES agents who still demand regulation of their pensions. And what is happening at SNCC today must be applied across the Republic so seniors can enjoy their rights. ”
The National Social Insurance Fund states that pension contributions are only paid if the company transfers the employees’ contributions to it. A repayment that very few public companies make.
.
