PHEDC sacks A’Ibom indigenes, retrenches ors

- Affected workers protest in Uyo 

National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) protesting

Following the outright dismissal of employees and retrenchment/termination of appointment of indigenes of Akwa Ibom state working in the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution company– PHEDC, affected staff of the company, on Thursday 20th August 2015 took to the streets to protest against the act which they described as “Nepotism, Unethical and man’s inhumanity to man” that has embedded the company since it was changed from Power Holdings Company of Nigeria, PHCN. The protesting workers who matched in their numbers around Paul Bassey, one of the popular streets in Uyo, chanted war songs but were cordoned by a detached team of policemen and members of the Join Taskforce (ADUMA). The aggrieved workers also barricaded the entrance of the company’s office in Uyo barring other staffers from performing their official duties.

Addressing journalist at the venue of the protest, the state chairman of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Mr. .Bassey Essien said the management of PHEDC have since turned a deaf eyes against the plight of the workers who were affected by the unholy retrenchment arbitrary carried out by the company in recent time.
He said upon notification, the Union reach out to the management through several letters and meetings but to no avails as the company turned silence on their demand, stressing that the union was constrained to match in the streets to protest against what he terms as the “flagrance” abuse of human and trade union rights in the Port-Harcourt Electricity Distribution company.
A letter of 14 days Ultimatum sent to the Management of the company with ref:NUEE/NS/2015/250 dated 23rd july 2015 which was made available to newsmen reads in parts, “ we have noted with dismay the impunity and levity that has characterized your official conduct in the following manners: Arbitrary dismissal of employees and or termination of their appointments without any cogent reason- the case of the 33 operators who declined to accept your bid to purposely slash their wages is most annoying as you first deployed them to other locations only to welcome them with termination of appointment letters. This level of deceit, intimidation and victimization cannot go unchallenged.”
The union chairman said the company and the management team have deliberately refused to come up with a date to negotiate the company procedural agreement and conditions-of-service with labour and have continued to run the company their whims and caprices a scenario they (union) described as intimidatory and slavish.
He said the company have also institutionalized casual /contract appointment which they said is against labour laws of the country ILO conventions.
The workers vowed to barricades the Uyo office until proper things are done to it members.