The National Assembly has increased the compulsory retirement age of all employees in its payroll from 60 years of age or 35 years of pensionable service to 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service in its new Conditions of Service.
The conditions, which were passed, by the Senate on December 11, 2018 and the House of Representatives on December 12, 2018 became effective on 21st May 2019. It also makes several changes to staff retirement benefits, disengagement allowances, rent subsidies, transport allowances and end of year bonus among others.
The new conditions of service is not however without its controversy. There have been arguments challenging National Assembly’s power to extend the retirement age of Staff. The provision, which places all National Assembly staff at par with academics and judges (whose age of retirement goes beyond the Public Service Rules of 60 years of age or 35 years of Service), has also received criticism over its huge cost implication.
For instance a perusal of the law clarifies that National Assembly Staff are actually governed by the National Assembly Service Commission by virtue of the National Assembly Service Act, 2014. The Commission’s powers under the Act include the power to formulate and implement guidelines for its functions. It is also empowered to make regulations relating to its conditions of service under section 19(1) of the Act.
Section 19(1) of the National Assembly Service Act is replicated below:
19.-( 1) “Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Commission may make staff regulations relating generally to the conditions of service, including the power to fix salaries and allowances, of the staff of the National Assembly….”
Therefore from the said section, it appears that it is the Commission and not the National Assembly that is granted power to make changes to conditions of service (such as retirement age/ years of service) except its staff regulations state so.
It also makes it imperative to scrutinize National Assembly’s roles in the light of the powers given to the National Assembly Service Commission under the Act.
This is especially so as the Act explicitly limits National Assembly roles in its internal affairs. Specifically, only two roles are provided for the Legislative arm. The first being an advisory role with National Assembly leadership (Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives) assigned with the responsibility of recommending the Commission’s Membership to a sitting President while the second role requires National Assembly to approve the remuneration that the Commission pays its staff.
Therefore, while the procedure for adopting remuneration for workers falls within the roles designated for National Assembly’s approval under the Act, the procedure governing other conditions of service such as retirement age/ years of service is not explicitly provided as requiring its approval under the Act.