The Nation Newspaper

Tag: electricity workers’

  • Electricity workers push for review of DisCos’ licences, performance

    Worried by the state of electricity supply in the country, workers in the sector have urged the Federal Government to review the licences and performance of  the electricity distribution companies (DisCos).

    Acting under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), the workers expressed worry that since the core investors took over the privatised electricity assets on November 1, 2013, their performances have been abysmal.  Nigerians, they lamented, have had  to bear the burden of paying outrageous /estimated bills for electricity never supplied. The workers said the DisCos have been getting away with the fraud because they wilfully refused to provide prepaid meters to their customers.

    Its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero said the firms, which were due for final performance review since October 31, 2018 being the fifth year anniversary of their take-over of the power assets, have continued to illegally operate with flagrant disregard for the power privatisation Act.

    He said it is more disturbing the involvement of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) being government’s representative on the board of these firms that have not publicly declared a kobo profit as the Federal Government’s stake in the companies for the past five years.

    He said: “It has become pertinent to draw the attention of Federal Government and general public to the foundation being laid for the illegal extension of a five years performance review of nine out of 11 DisCos in the country by the Director-General of BPE, Mr. Alex Okoh.

    “A good number of them have carried out their operations within the period under review without conditions of service thereby turning the workplace to slave camps where workers are being disengaged without recourse to any law.

    “Some of them like Egbin power plc and Enugu DisCo have been involved in stealing monies meant for the unions. More disturbing is the involvement of the BPE being government’s representative on the board of these companies who have not publicly declared a kobo profit as the Federal Government’s stake in the companies for the past five years.

    “It is quite unfortunate that some of the DisCos have even gone to the extent of rejecting load from the national grid as wheeled by the transmission company of Nigeria (TCN) yet nobody is checking this unholy act”.

    He said in conducting unbiased periodic reviews of the performance of the DisCo/GenCos towards the final review of their performances come November 31, 2018, the BPE should be excluded from mid-wifing the process being members of the various boards of the power firms.

    Ajaero said: “They cannot be umpires in their own games. We therefore call on the Federal Government not to renew the licences of companies that have operated with impunity and without conditions of service as the union and other civil society organisations will not allow this dastardly act continue unabated.

    “We are serving a final notice to challenge the illegal extension and operation of the DisCos in the country.

    “It is our candid desire that the Federal Government works with Independent bodies, the public, relevant government agencies and other stakeholders in the power sector to properly review the performance of the DisCos under the management of core investors aimed at properly evaluating their performances so far as agreed with the Federal Government five years ago.”

  • Electricity workers threaten to shut power, demand sack of MD

    Electricity workers yesterday in Abuja threatened to shut down power, unless the Federal Government sacks the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN) Managing Director, Usman Mohammed.

    The workers, under the auspices of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC), are accusing Mohammed of high handedness and anti-labour practices.

    The union threatened to ground the entire power structure, if the government refused to heed its advice to relief the managing director of his appointment.

    The workers’ threat followed the alleged administrative irregularities and high handedness of the Mohammed-led management.

    TCN emerged from the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), following the merger of the Transmission and Operations sectors on April 1, 2004.

    TCN represents one of the 18 unbundled business units under the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and was issued a transmission licence on July, 1, 2006.

    The development prompted workers of the organisation to picket the TCN premise where they disrupted vehicular and commercial activities for several hours.

    The workers, who spoke through SSAEAC’s General Secretary, Umar Abubakar, accused Mohammed of allegedly flouting most of the administrative procedures, which they claimed were inimical to their welfare.

    According to them, the MD allegedly single handedly conducted examinations for staff due for promotion without recourse to input from other management staff.

    They alleged that the MD had defaulted in remitting taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), a development that also led to the sealing of the organisation even before the workers staged their protest.

    The workers also claimed the MD had hijacked some funds provided by the World Bank for projects in the power sector, including his alleged interference in union activities by his attempt to polarise the union.

    They also alleged that the MD cleared a large consignment of electrical materials from foreign donors at the ports but failed to deliver same to the warehouse of the organisation for proper accountability, before distribution to the relevant sections.

    The protesters said efforts by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige and his counterpart in the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, to intervene in the matter, proved abortive as Mohammed failed to turn up in several meetings.

    “Our grievances stem from the fact that the MD on his own handled the promotion exercise and started to conduct it in his own way through the aid of consultants that to us is not the ideal process.” the angry worker said.

     

     

  • Electricity workers push for N54,000 minimum wage

    The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) is pushing for the review of the N18, 000 minimum wage being paid to workers in the country. It said the review of the slave wage is long overdue, urging the workers to close ranks and demand for N54,000 as new  minimum wage.

    Its past President, Comrade Mansur Muhammed Musa, argued that it is only when this is done that workers would put in their best. He said without the review, workers would continue to work like elephant and eat liek ants, adding that the dignity of labour must be respected.

    “There should be dignity in labour. So, N18, 000 minimum wage is out of the question. We should come together and demand for N54, 000 minimum wage,” he insisted.

    Speaking with The Nation in Lafia, Nasarawa State, after the Union’s fifth Quadrennial/10th Delegates Conference, Comrade Musa, dismissed as huge joke threats by some governors not to pay the N18, 000 minimum wage because of the financial crunch induced by the fall in oil prices in the international market.

    Some governors had stirred the hornet nest when they claimed that the N18, 000 minimum wage was imposed on them when oil was sold for $126 as against the present price of $41 per barrel and that they cannot pay. This did not go down well with workers.

    Many of them, including Musa argued that apart from the fact that the National Minimum Wage Act is due for review after five years of becoming law, the current purchasing power of the naira has made the N18, 000 minimum wage unsustainable.

    “They (governors) have told us they cannot pay the minimum wage, but they have not told Nigerians whether they cannot also pay the maximum wage because we know they are taking the maximum wage,” the labour unionist said. “What are they saying about their own maximum wage or is it only the minimum of N18, 000 that they are giving to workers that they cannot pay?”

    The former NUEE chief, who handed over the mantle of leadership to a new president elected at the end of the conference, insisted that there were areas of wastages in the country that needed to be curtailed to free up resources to pay workers a new minimum wage of N54, 000.

    He said: “If we can reduce the areas of wastages, we won’t have problems. Go to any of the Government Houses, nobody drives a Golf car; they are all driving jeeps.’’

    “Look at the convoy of governors when they are going from one place to another; look at the cost of fuel for their vehicles, personnel, and other allowances; you can go on and on and on. So, they can pay the N18, 000 minimum wage. We are not even asking them to pay only N18,000 minimum wage now or sustain the payment of N18, 000, we are asking for a review from N18, 000 to about N54, 000 or N60, 000 as minimum wage”

    Comrade Musa said with the upward review a worker can manage to go to work, take care of his children, feed them, pay their school fees so, he can now concentrate on the job. “The worker’s productivity will be better and there won’t be corruption; it will bring down corruption to the lowest level,” he added.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari should demonstrate the change mantra by increasing the minimum wage to N54, 000 so as to eliminate corruption at that level and also give workers a new lease of life.

  • NLC, electricity workers protest in Calabar

    The Private Sector of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Cross River State chapter of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) yesterday prevented workers of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) from entering their office in Calabar, the state capital.

    They called for negotiations on the workers’ welfare.

    The protesters carried placard bearing various descriptions, such as: ‘PHEDC management, negotiate now”; “Stop enslavement of electricity workers”; “Give us our right to unionise”, among others.

    Chairman of NLC Private Sector, Mr. Kalu Imong, said the electricity company deprived the workers of their welfare and dismissing others arbitrarily.

    He urged the government to intervene in the matter, adding that PHEDC should call the union for negotiation.

    NUEE Chairman Daniel Asuquo said: “I am not striking; I am picketing. The picketing will last as long as PHEDC will see reason to call a round table conference and meet our demands before the company.”

    An official of the PHEDC, Mr. Jonah Iboma, said the company had not received any formal complaints from the workers and the union.

     

  • Electricity workers fault renewal of Manitoba power contract

    The Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) has faulted the one year extension granted to Manitoba Hydro International Limited (MHI) to manage the operations of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    The workers expressed  dissatisfaction  in a petition addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, a copy of which was made available to The Nation.

    SSAEAC kicked against the renewal of the contract because there was no clear-cut  evaluation of  the assignment and job carried out by MHI in improving transmission, and the wheeling capacity of the transmission line, with measurable milestones as contained in the contract.

    Its President-General, Comrade Bede Opara who signed the petition, wondered why so much attention was  given  to  the contract renewal rather than an assessment of the impact MHI has had in improving and strengthening the operational capacities of TCN.

    “It is not enough to lay claims to improving the power generation capacity that peaked at 4,545Mw recently which was as a result of better and improved supply of gas to our thermal stations. It is necessary to ask how to raise the wheeling power of the TCN to accommodate and sustain increased/improved generation.

    “It is also necessary that we know the structure the MHI has put in place to accommodate this increased generation in the nearest future. We are aware that a lot of generated Mw are lost due to the inability of the TCN in some locations, to evacuate them into the grid,’’ the petition read in part.

    Opara said during the last contract period of three years, there was glaring lack of coordination between the expatriate   and Nigerian teams in the TCN.

    The union  also said there  was no team spirit among the management contractors, and also, between the management contractors and their Nigerian counterparts.

    ‘’We expect a better coordinated work regime, which regrettably, is absent. We also expect amongst other matters, serious and committed training programmes of Nigerians – an assignment that constitute part of the MHI contract.

    “There is need to look inwards in order to identify any challenge(s) that might negatively affect the schedules and plans by Nigerian operators or the management contractors, ’’ the workers said.

    The union suggested that the TCN should  be independent and insulated from partisanship political interests and influence.

    He also advocated  the need  for an all-inclusive stakeholders meeting to re-evaluate, and design a practicable work plan that will ensure that TCN plays its role and achieves desired objectives.

    The Federal Government  had recently extended the management contract of TCN with MHI of Canada by one year.

    This followed the imminent expiration of a three-year management contract signed in 2012 for MHI to manage TCN’s electrical power transmission, system operation and market operation undertakings, as well as train TCN personnel.

  • Anxiety as electricity workers’ probation ends today

    Anxiety as electricity workers’ probation ends today

    There is anxiety over the fate of electricity workers as their probation under a new management expires today. The workers are worried because they do not know what will be their fate.

    Their fears are fuelled by the fact that the power firms may sack more workers in order to reposition themselves for optimal growth. The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), last November, sacked 65 per cent of the 48,000 workers of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in line with the provisions of the reforms.

    Those retained were put on probation from November last year to this month. This is part of the process aimed at facilitating transition from the state-owned electricity company to privately-driven institutions.

    A visit to the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) and Eko Electricity Distribution Company, showed that the workers are concerned on what their fate may be at the end of the probation. While many are afraid of retrenchment, others are adopting a wait- and- see attitude oblivious of the implication of the probation.

    An official at IKEDC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fate of his colleagues is unknown yet, considering the slow pace of development in the sector. He said there was apprehension among the workers, having escaped the earlier sack by the BPE, adding that intense lobbying is going on among the workers to save their jobs as nobody is sure of what would happen at the expiration of the probation.

    ‘’We all know what it means to put workers on probation. Everybody is trying to save his, or her job. The managements of the power distribution companies (DISCOs) and generation companies (GENCOs) have been holding crucial meetings in the past few weeks and are reviewing the performances of the companies since they took over the assets of PHCN six months ago. The meetings’ agenda include, restructuring the workforce to see where there are loopholes, sack the unproductive workers and employ new ones. This has reinforced our conviction that the power companies would still sack more workers,” the official said.

    The Principal Manager, Corporate Affairs, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Akinsola Ayeni, said workers were concerned about the outcome as the probation expires today, raising hopes that the managements of the power firms were not likely going to retrench workers after the probation.

    He said: “I don’t think the DISCOs would sack more workers after the probation. Though there are fears in the industry, the possibility of retrenching workers is not there as there are many issues competing for the attention of the new power firms.’’

    The National Secretary, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Joe Ajaero, said the industry is struggling to survive, adding that any attempt to sack more workers would defeat the objectives of the privatisation programme.

    He said the goal of the privatisation is to restore confidence in the sector by improving power and further revive the economy, arguing that those objectives are far from being realised.

    He said the industry is under-staffed because a large percentage of the workforce has been thrown into the labour market, adding that the shortage of manpower is inimical to the realisation of the goals of privatisation.

    ‘’Already, the workers are stressed up. They are being overworked daily. The capacity- utilisation is low because one person does the job of three people. So, if more workers are sacked, that means one person would do the jobs of five, or six people. That would lead to low productivity, which is not good for an industry that is just coming back to life. This action is not in line with the developmental objective of Nigeria which is targeting socio-economic growth.

    “There would be no electricity, if more workers are retrenched. The reason is because there would be nobody to work in generation, transmission and distribution aspects of the sector.’’ he added.

    Also, NUEE’s President, Mansur Musa, said the interest of the workers is paramount to the body, stressing that the body would frown at any attempt to jeopardise the welfare of the electricity workers.