By Emma Amaize

SAPELE—EURAFIC Power Limited, the  new management of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, Ogorode, Sapele, Delta State, has commenced dialogue with ex-workers, whose protest over unpaid salary, last week,  paralysed the company’s operations.

Public Relations Officer of the company, Mr. Ernest Atsenuwa, who confirmed the negotiation, however, said the management had already paid April salary and also agreed to pay the controversial March salary to the ex-workers.

The disengaged workers claimed they were being owed salaries for February, March and April and other entitlements, including productivity bonus.

Atsenuwa said: “On the issue of salaries, there was no generation in March 2014 up to the middle of April 2014 and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said that there will be no payment of capacity charge for the period.”

He said the productivity bonus being agitated for should have been paid to the ex-workers as at December 2013 and that Eurafic Power Limited took over Sapele Power Plc in late February 2014.

According to him, some of the workers were laid off by government before Eurafic took over, and the company unconditionally offered six months contract from November 2013 to terminate in April 2014 after which the workers could be laid off with either one month notice or one month salary in lieu.