Kaduna Electric Employees Commence Indefinite Strike Over Unfair Treatment
Members of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) at the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company have commenced an indefinite strike to protest against unfair treatment and other unresolved labour disputes with the company’s management.
The protesters, holding placards, blocked the entrance to the company’s headquarters in Kaduna on Tuesday morning, preventing other staff and customers from entering the premises.
Their grievances include the non-payment of pensions for six years, failure to provide death benefits to deceased employees’ families, non-payment of exit packages, unfair dismissal of seven workers in Zaria, inadequate resources for workers, and an alleged plan to lay off over 1,000 employees.
During the protest, Ayuba Pukat, the Organizing Secretary, North West, NUEE, emphasized that the workers were asserting their rights and seeking improved working conditions.
He highlighted that the company had not transferred pension deductions for 72 months, a criminal offence. Pukat urged authorities to investigate and take necessary action.
“Again, some Zaria staff’s employments were unlawfully terminated last year as a result of malfunctioning of the power equipment in Zaria, leading to the electrocution of 14 residents in Southern Zaria. The staff were asked to leave without a fair hearing. We are here to express our dissatisfaction to the management staff regarding our welfare.
“We don’t have enough equipment to work, yet we keep getting threats upon threats. They also employed MOPOL to send us out from the premises as we protest, but we won’t leave here until we have registered our grouse,” he said.
Abdulazeez Abdullahi, the Head of Corporate Communications at Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, has criticized the NUEE strike as unnecessary and detrimental to the company’s well-being. He noted that discussions were already underway with union leaders to resolve all ongoing labor disputes.
Abdullahi urged the employees to reconsider their stance and halt the strike to normalize all business operations.
He was taken aback by the closure of offices by NUEE members, deeming it unwarranted.
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Abdullahi mentioned an upcoming quarterly meeting on Wednesday, where pension contributions were on the agenda, with plans to address any outstanding payments.
“We have a new MD, and he needs time to settle down and then plan on how to gradually offset the historical liabilities. But they chose to do this and have stopped staff and customers from coming in. This is illegal, and we think this is unnecessary. We know the company is not in a good place right now, but the new MD has promised to turn the company. We need all hands to be on deck so that we can forge a way forward for the company.”
