BY KUNLE KALEJAYE
THE Public Service International, PSI, has expressed concern over military occupation of the power stations throughout the country.

In a letter addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan, and made available to Vanguard, General Secretary, PSI, Mr. Peter Waldoff, said the occupation is coming under the guise of protecting the facilities and the workers against possible threats from Boko Haram.

“But we see another purpose, which is to intimidate the workers and their union leaders in order to have them cease and divert their opposition to privatization of the energy system. This military occupation was used not less than four months ago to stop an industrial action” he said.

He also noted that the PSI is aware that certain parties, including some in government, have personal interests to run down the sector in order to use the opportunity to privatise it under the guise that the public had failed.

Against this backdrop, the PSI General Secretary said his organisation understands the National Union of Electricity Employees’, NUEE, opposition to the privatisation of the sector, as similar in many other countries where the energy sector were privatized.

“The impact of this privatisation has been almost uniformly negative. Your policy makers should study these experiences in greater detail and give you less biased advice on the greatest good for all of Nigeria and Nigerians. The continued arrest and intimidation of NUEE members is a negation to civilized ways of resolving conflicts in our modern society which guarantees freedom of association and right to expression of opinions”

NUEE believes that the aggressive move to privatize the energy sector is a huge mistake, driven by personal interests and not by the best interest of all Nigerians.

Waldoff said, “We support a strengthened PHCN in public hands, with much improved transparency, accountability and participation in decision making process. The country has sufficient funds to provide modern, reliable and affordable electricity to all Nigerians, which will provide key support to job creation.

and poverty reduction. We urge the Government to restrain itself from the use of agencies such as EFCC, SSS, Police and the military to intimidate the union and workers of PHCN.”

On November 14, 2011, it was reported that armed soldiers took over most of the nation’s power stations, including Egbin Power Station, with Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, workers threatening to withdraw their services.

Some of the power stations and distribution companies taken over by the soldiers include: Sapele in Delta state; Olorunsogbo in Ondo State; NCC Osogbo in Osun state; Egbin in Lagos; transmission stations in Gombe, Gombe State; Ikeja West in Lagos; Ganmo in Ilorin; Birni Kebbi; Mando in Kaduna; Kano; Ayede in Ibadan and distribution stations in Doka; Gwiwa in Sokoto State, and a host of others.

It was also gathered that the Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji was informed of the Federal Government’s decision to deploy troops to protect the facilities and the workers, according to his Special Adviser, C.Don Adinuba, who said “the minister has accordingly informed the PHCN Chief Executive, Engr. Hussein Labo, and the CEOs of the 18 PHCN successor companies, as well as stakeholders like the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies and the National Union of Electricity Employees of the development.”

However, NUEE General Secretary, Mr. Joe Ajaero, defended, “We did not go on strike, but there was a protest because we woke one morning and saw troops everywhere, not only troops but the troops were leading Chinese, Indians BP officials taking pictures and using tapes to measure PHCN properties. In Olorunsogbo in Ondo State, soldiers pulled the workers out of the safety department and that is where the soldiers are now staying.

“I can remember Hassan Sunmonu sounding a note of warning that this privatization, if you want it to take place, you should not make it be like others where assets were undervalued. They can deploy as many soldiers as they want but they cannot use soldiers to bend the hands of workers to push them in. The question is, are the soldiers there to combat Boko  Haram or the workers?”
Speaking on the biometric verification exercise, the union’s General Secretary, Comrade Joe Ajaero in an interview with Vanguard, said, “We are astonished at the unfolding events, in the, Power Sector, especially at realising that moves are on to  carry out all staff  Biometric Verification Exercise in PHCN as a pre-condition to the payment of 50% salary increase.

While we do not necessarily have any serious issue against any genuine attempt to sanitise or moderate the system, we frown at moves geared towards implementing policies that are not products of collective bargaining.”

“The on-going Negotiation/Conciliation of the Government and the Labour unions in the Power Sector on the way forward in the Reform Agenda did not at any time recommend general biometrics for all staff. Rather, the agreement which we had in the Negotiation was for the Casual Workers’ Biometric Exercise to ascertain their exact number, validity, and eligibility for employment.

This agreement was signed by Government ‘representatives ‘including the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour. Recall that during Monetization Arrears implementation, the issue of All Staff Biometric Exercise Verification came up at the table for discussions.

The Unions did not object to it and it was therefore adopted. The exercise which we consider valid was carried out by Government appointed Consultants that charged about N300 Million. This exercise took place in the last one year.”

But the union has since had a change of heart on the issue following fresh agreements with government on Thursday.