NUEE Tasks FG On PHCN Workers’ Plight

The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), has called on the Federal Government to urgently look into the plight of casual workers of  Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

In a statement issued by the Union Scribe Comrade Joe Ajaero said the conditions of the caused workers  deserved the attention and intervention of the Federal Government.

He said the management of the PHCN need to issue confirmation letter to the casual workers who had spent several years working for the PHCN  without any recognition. The union scribe said the recent approval of severance  package to PHCN  workers  would help to address the plight  of the casual  workers, stressing  that some of the casual workers had spent over 12 years  working in PHCN without  any benefits and confirmation of their  appointment.

Meanwhile a group of casual workers at the             PHCN zonal office ordinance Road, Port Harcourt who  pleaded  anonymity had told The Tide that they undergone  the biometric  screening/verification exercise  ordered by the Presidential Committee On PHCN reconciliation in the  wake of privatization of the company but no confirmation letter issued to them till now. They said, they are the ones doing the bulks of  work in PHCN stressing that “we compute accounts  on paid  PHCN bills, read metres  distribute bills, carry ladders for repairs, type and distribute bills yet no confirmation letters issued to us to regularise  our appointment”. They said their problem had persisted for such a long time because they were not part of electricity workers union for the union leaders to stand and protect their interests and rights. They said the issuance of confirmation letter to them would enable them get severance pay as approved by the Federal  Government for the PHCN  workers. It would be recalled that Electricity  unions leadership and representative of the Federal Government had signed an agreement to resolve the dispute on how to pay pension and gratuities to the PHCN workers after PHCN  was splintered into 18 successor companies  for sale in the ongoing power sector reform.