Workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria have threatened to go
on strike over the non-payment of severance benefits to about 55 per
cent of the workforce.
Over 2,000 workers under the aegis of the National Union of Electrical Employees staged a protest at the Eko and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Companies on Monday in Lagos over the delay in the payment of their severance benefits.
The workers, who locked the gates to the distribution companies and prevented people from entering the premises, lamented that most banks had refused to give financial backing to the schedule sent to them by the Federal Government, hence the delay in the payment of the benefits to the majority of them.
For this, they threatened to commence a nationwide indefinite strike on November 1, while vowing that there would be blackout across the country because the workers would down tools if the issue was not resolved before then.
They also gave the Federal Government a four-day ultimatum to address the problem.
The Chairman, Lagos Chapter, NUEE, Mr. Adeleke Ibrahim, who led the protest, said, “The reports reaching the union is that majority of the banks cannot give financial backing to the schedule sent to them by the Federal Government. This means that the government does not have money.”
Ibrahim said if the entitlements were not paid by the end of October, the entire workforce of PHCN in all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory would embark on an indefinite strike.
According to him, the union is not against privatisation of the company, “but government should pay all workers’ entitlements before the new owners commence operation.”
He, therefore, appealed to the government to ensure that all the agreements it signed with the workers were met in order to avert the strike.
Ibrahim said some of the issues in contention included non-payment of retirement savings to the Pension Fund Administrators and non-remittance of dues of two per cent deducted from workers’ salaries to the unions.
Others are non-payment of benefits of retirees who disengaged in 2011 and non-regularisation of the services of some casual workers.
Read More: http://businessnews.com.ng/2013/10/30/phcn-workers-threaten-nationwide-blackout-november-1/
Over 2,000 workers under the aegis of the National Union of Electrical Employees staged a protest at the Eko and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Companies on Monday in Lagos over the delay in the payment of their severance benefits.
The workers, who locked the gates to the distribution companies and prevented people from entering the premises, lamented that most banks had refused to give financial backing to the schedule sent to them by the Federal Government, hence the delay in the payment of the benefits to the majority of them.
For this, they threatened to commence a nationwide indefinite strike on November 1, while vowing that there would be blackout across the country because the workers would down tools if the issue was not resolved before then.
They also gave the Federal Government a four-day ultimatum to address the problem.
The Chairman, Lagos Chapter, NUEE, Mr. Adeleke Ibrahim, who led the protest, said, “The reports reaching the union is that majority of the banks cannot give financial backing to the schedule sent to them by the Federal Government. This means that the government does not have money.”
Ibrahim said if the entitlements were not paid by the end of October, the entire workforce of PHCN in all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory would embark on an indefinite strike.
According to him, the union is not against privatisation of the company, “but government should pay all workers’ entitlements before the new owners commence operation.”
He, therefore, appealed to the government to ensure that all the agreements it signed with the workers were met in order to avert the strike.
Ibrahim said some of the issues in contention included non-payment of retirement savings to the Pension Fund Administrators and non-remittance of dues of two per cent deducted from workers’ salaries to the unions.
Others are non-payment of benefits of retirees who disengaged in 2011 and non-regularisation of the services of some casual workers.
Read More: http://businessnews.com.ng/2013/10/30/phcn-workers-threaten-nationwide-blackout-november-1/
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