Following the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, the Nigerian electricity workers represented by the National Union of Electricity Employees and Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies have decided to halt the industrial action that began on Wednesday for a period of two weeks.
In response to the TCN Board’s directive that all acting prime ministers attending the AGM must attend a promotion interview, the NUEE had on Tuesday issued a nationwide call to action to its members. They were to “mobilize immediately for a serious picketing of the TCN Headquarters and Stations nationwide.”
The Union also cited the stigmatization of employees from the office of the Head of Service of the Federation from working in other areas of the power sector as well as the market operator’s refusal to fund the payment of entitlements for former employees of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria as agreed upon in December 2019 following an industrial action by the Union as justifications for going on strike.
The Union subsequently gave the order for all of its members across the country to stop working as of Wednesday, August 17.
Ngige called an emergency meeting between the Federal Government and the electrical employees to tackle the problems that caused the strike after the statewide blackout that followed the strike by the NUEE.
Following the meeting, the Federal Government declared the strike to be over.
The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun, made the announcement in a statement released in Abuja.
Part of the statement said, “The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has taken cognizance of the strike initiated by the NUEE following an emergency meeting with the union, the government, and other stakeholders, at the Minister’s initiative.
At the conclusion of the meeting, NUEE Secretary-General Joe Ajaero gave the minister his word that all required measures would be made to promptly resume the country’s electrical supply.
Ngige said that a committee will be formed by the government to investigate the labor union’s complaints.
