The National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, has said it is sad that about 1,000 former staff of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN disengaged four years ago are yet to receive their severance benefits.
Labour President of NUEE, Mr Martin Uzoegwu, disclosed this during the National Executive Council, NEC, a meeting of the union in Lagos.
Uzoegwu said it was worrisome that the disengaged workers who had put in many years in service had yet to be paid their benefit by the Federal Government.
”This is corruption and unfair labour practice. We advice the government to put necessary machinery in place to ensure that these ex-workers receive their severance benefit.’
The NUEE president said the objective of the meeting was to brainstorm on issues arising from privatisation and post privatisation of power sector.
It will be recalled that the former staff of PHCN have been protesting unpaid benefits for some time.
In one of their protests, the aggrieved former workers in Oyo District, protested what they referred to as “non-payment of our entitlements by the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan”.
The aggrieved retirees, some of who looked dejected, took to the streets, appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to save their souls.
During the protest, the retired workers said besides months of unpaid salaries, their unsettled terminal benefits which included severance payment, retirement gratuity, death benefits and pension deduction, among other entitlements, “are still pending with the federal government”.
According to their spokesman, Mr. Bolanle Ojelabi, all the collective agreements reached between the union and government in the power sector had been breached.
He said presently, the pension deductions of retired workers from July, 2012 till date had not been effected, adding that those who retired statutorily are yet to be paid their gratuity.
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