By Victor Ahiuma-Young

INDICATIONS of fresh industrial unrest have emerged in the nation’s power sector following the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum by the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, over precarious working conditions of members and employees of Power generation companies, GenCos.

Recall that NUEE had on April 3rd issued a 21-day ultimatum to the GenCos, over refusal to reach agreement with the Union on the modalities of working together as partners with respect to members.

 Already leaders of the union, it was gathered, have intensified mobilization of members across the country to take on the GenCos, which will automatically, cripple the industry.  

NUEE lamented that following “the privatization of the Power Sector and taking over in November 2013, the Generation Companies, GenCos, are yet to reach agreement with the Union on the modalities of working together as partners with respect to their members.”

According to the NUEE, the GenCos have refused to sign Conditions of Service with workers thus portraying them as “slave masters” without conditions of work and rules of engagement. They have refused to allow the conduct of chapter elections since taking over despite series of letters written to them without any response.

Other crimes of the GenCos include “Mass de-unionization of Union members with threat to loss of jobs to intending members, refusal to allow Union’s gathering and general meeting of members and constant refusal of management to allow unionization of newly recruited staff (which is within our rights) and unabated threat against existing staff/members.

“Unilateral delisting of Union members and non-remittance of Union dues for same without recourse to extant Labour Laws and several efforts have been made to address the issues with the various stakeholders to no avail. Rather, they have continued to thrive on the suffering of the down trodden workers in the electricity sector.

Another issue creating tension in the sector is casualisation of workers which the Union described as a “very worrisome pattern of anti-unionization in the Power Sector. The denial of workers  of their right to freedom of association and belonging to trade Union is a fundamental assault in Nigeria’s Constitution which via section 40 guarantees workers the right to assemble and join any association of their choice. It is also a grave violation of core International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards especially Convention 87 and 98 which Nigeria had ratified since 1960.”

NUEE however, added that “the leaderships  of the  Union in collaboration with the Congress are  tackling this issue.”