NUEE Strike:Minister, PHCN Officials Boycott Peace Meeting

There appears to be no ends in sight yet in the labour
crisis rocking the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) following the threat
by the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC)            to embark on
indefinite strike within the power sector.

The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka
Wogu  has intervened into the organised
labour threat by the invitation of the organised labour leaders of the Nigeria
Labour Congress NLC, NUEE, Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji and management
staff of the PHCN for a meeting to avert the intending strike action of the
organised labour.

The dialogue ended in stalemate yesterday as the Minister of
Power, Prof Barth Nnaji and management staff of PHCN failed to honour the
invitation for the meeting in Abuja.

The Tide gathered from a reliable NUEE source in Port Harcourt
that NLC and NUEE have been battling the Federal government over its insistence
to privatise the power sector without the conclusion of the appropriate
modalities of compensation to the workers especially their gratuities and
pension.

The reliable source further said the organised labour was
adequately represented at the meeting under the delegation of the Deputy
President NLC who is also General Secretary of NUEE, Comrade Joe Ajaero.

The parties had agreed to reconvene on October 22 to address
certain outstanding issues even as the Federal
Government made certain concessions which the organised labour
representatives agreed to take to their National Executive Council (NEC) for
ratification.

The Union source said the 7.5 per cent contributory pension
by the workers would no longer be deducted pending the outcome of the ongoing
negotiations between the parties.

However, the NLC has put its affiliates and Nigerians on
notice over its plan to call a general strike over the PHCN crisis.

A statement obtained from the NLC wetsite and signed by the
Assistant General Secretary said “the labour body was mobilising for the strike
as the Federal Government had not shown readiness to listen to the demands of
the PHCN workers”.

NLC said the organized labour was displeased that the
government was trying to shortchange PHCN employees and using armed soldiers to
intimidate the workers.

The statement was a clarion call on Nigerians to defend the
rights of the PHCN employees against impunity and extant labour law.

The NLC said “the ultimatum issued by the congress on the
issues particularly the immediate withdrawal of armed soldiers from PHCN work
zones, expires on 48 hours and all affiliates of NLC and its state councils
have already been put on notice on what follows after the expiration of this
ultimatum based on the pronouncement of the NLC National Executive Council” the
statement stated.