Electricity workers protest handing over of PHCN to new investors
President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday handed over the
certificates and licence to buyers of successor companies of PHCN.
The gesture signaled the government’s disengagement from the
management of the plants.
The Federal Government would, however, continue to oversee
the transmission network in the interim.
All the PHCN offices in Lagos were under lock and key, while
the workers, serving or retired, carried placards with various inscriptions
demanding for payment of their benefits.
Some of the inscriptions read: ``Pay our money; we are ready
to leave, “Over 50 per cent of workers’ benefits are still outstanding” and “FG
should pay us before handing over.”
In Auchi, the workers also stormed the major streets calling
on the Federal Government to pay their entitlements before handing over to the
new investors.
Mr Adeleke Ibrahim, the chairman, Lagos State Chapter,
National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), said that the protest was
because of government’s failure to pay them before handling the companies to
new owners.
Ibrahim said that the Federal Government had not paid
severance package, pensions and gratuities to about 50,951 workers as at September 27.
``It is expected that the agencies saddled with the
responsibility of paying the workers’ benefits would have done that before
officially handing over to the new investors.
``PHCN workers nationwide will not leave their offices until
all our severance packages are duly paid by the government’s agencies saddled
with the computation of the packages,’’ he said.
Mr Olusegun Afolorunso, the NUEE chairman in Eko Electricity
Distribution Company, said that only 25 per cent of the workers had been paid.
``We were directed on Sunday night by our leaders that all
our offices should be locked in protest against non-payment of our severance
packages. Though, the Federal Government has commenced payment, only 25 per
cent of the entire workers nationwide were settled.
``The new investors just want to come and take over our
offices as directed by the Federal Government without settling our benefits
that is why we are protesting,`` he said.
Mr Ganiyu Iyaniwura, the union chairman in PHCN Ijora
Business District, said, ``we planned our own independent protest because of
the non-payment of our arrears by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company.
``We are being owed backlogs of 11 months from 2011 to 2012
before the National Electricity Liability Management, NELCO, took over. We want
to know the plan the Federal Government has for us because when you are handing
over to new companies they are supposed to take over on a clean slate.
``The new companies that are coming do not know us. So, the
Federal Government should settle us first,`` he said.
Mr Adebola Adedoja, the Lagos Island Chapter chairman of the
National Union of Pensioners, said that the Federal Government still owed
pensioners some benefits.
Mr Shaibu Nassir, the NUEE Secretary in Edo, said that the
protest was to register the workers’ grievances against the handing over of
PHCN to the new investors without the settlement of their severance packages.
``The Federal
Government and the Bureau for Public Enterprise, BPE, cannot hand over PHCN to
new investors without settling the labour issues as earlier agreed with the
union.
``All our entitlements have not been settled by the Federal
Government and BPE officials are all over the PHCN offices across the states
planning to hand over,’’ he said.
Mr Kareem Iluedo, the Chairman of NUEE, Auchi Chapter, said
that Federal Government had not paid majority of the PHCN workers.
``We are not against privatisation, but all benefits accrued
to us must be paid before the handing over. We are ready to work along with the
Federal Government, but all the labour issues should be settled. We are afraid
of being thrown into the labour market without collecting our full
entitlements,’’ he said.
Comments
Post a Comment