Business, Homes Suffer As Power Workers Down Tools

           

Olusola Bello

T

he reform in the power sector, which culminated in the handover of PHCN assets to private investors a week ago, suffered a setback as power workers during the week withheld services because a good number of them were disengaged by the new owners.

The action of the workers has put many businesses and homes in darkness as many could neither recharge their prepaid meters nor rectify electrical faults.

BusinessDay visit to the Yaba Mainland business unit of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company showed that activities were paralysed as many consumers milled around to see if they could recharge or get their complaints sorted out.

It was learnt that most of the workers were on Monday disengaged from their jobs with their severance package fully paid.

Businesses and homes are, therefore, suffering from power outage as a result. The development may also increase the cost of production as some of the businesses may be forced to depend on diesel for as long as it may take to resolve the issues involved.

The workers who have been staying off duty post since Tuesday claimed they were doing so to press home their demand for the payment of the severance package of their members who were yet to be paid by the defunct PHCN.

Aside from this, some of the workers said they were surprised that when they came to the office on Monday, a good number of them were greeted with letters of disengagement while some were also handed letters of re-engagement, a situation they claimed generated tensions which led to their closure of their offices in Lagos and other places.

Some union officials told BusinessDay that they were not permitted to talk, adding that when they went to their offices and tried to demand for the reasons why the new management decided to do what they did, they were confronted with stern-looking security men.

“With the way the security men were doing, we had to ask our members to stay away from office to avoid any confrontation that might lead to casualties,” one of them said.

A senior management staff of one of the distribution stations in Lagos told BusinessDay that the atmosphere was very tense because some of the company’s employees had been given disengagement letters.

Another member of Eko Electricity Distribution Zone said business managers of the various units had been mandated to reach out to the aggrieved workers so the management of the company could find an amicable way of resolving the issue.

However, the management of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, while reacting to this development, told customers in its network that the transaction which resulted into handover to a new management did not in any way signify a shutdown of operations.

Kola Adesina, chairman of the company, pleaded for the support of both the workers and consumers to make the current reforms to succeed, adding that the position of the company, together with Nigerian people, was to develop the sector and make it healthy, viable and of ultimate benefit to the customers and the country at large.

He enjoined the customers to pay their bills on time, protect electricity infrastructure, and learn to conserve electricity by switching off appliances not in use.

Source: BusinessDay