Ex-PHCN workers protest non-payment of severance package

Some disengaged workers and pensioners of PHCN on Monday held a protest rally in Lagos over the non- payment of their gratuity.

The Lagos protest was held at the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company in Ikeja.

Speaking at the rally, the former Chairman of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Mr Toyin Atanda said at the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, that the protest was nation-wide.

'We agreed to hold this rally simultaneously nation-wide because 30 percent of our members have not received a dime and it cuts across all the states,'' he said.

Atanda said also that the former workers were requesting for six-month salaries because of an earlier agreement with government to work till April 2014.

'We had an agreement with government that no worker will be laid off before April, 2014.

'Some of our members have been laid off since November 2013 so we are asking for our six months pay-off since they are the ones that reneged on the agreement,'' he said.

Mr Agyake Anthony, Zonal Organising Secretary, NUEE, who spoke at Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said the union had made fruitless efforts to make government to address the issues.

'We have to march down here today because we don't know Bureau of Public Enterprises or Ministry of Power; this is where we were disengaged.

'We believe that from here our grievances will be registered and we will continue until Federal Government answers us,' he said.

Mr Joseph Solarin, Chairman of PHCN Pensioners, said that workers who retired between 2010 and 2013 had not received their gratuity.

'The government had an agreement with us that we will be paid once PHCN was privatized but till date we have not received anything, he said.

Mr Debo Adeyemi, the Vice Chairman, West Power and Gas Ltd., the owners of EKEDC who addressed the rally, promised the workers that there requests would be forwarded to the government for action.

'We will urge the government to do something about your entire request in order to resolve the matter.

'We in private sector are partner in progress with the labour unions, we need you and you need us too,' he said.

The 500 the protesters carried various placards with the inscription such as: 'Over 25,000 workers have not received their pension components.

'Wrongful and illegal disengagement of over 50 per cent of the workers in the sector.

'Verbal disengagement of about 3,000 verified casual staff from the industry without remuneration.

'Over 10,000 workers in the sector have not been paid a dime as their severance entitlement.'