Nigerian Music - Africa Energy Electricity – #lightupnigeria Electricity Workers In Abuja Cry Foul

Source: Next, By Ngozi Sams, November -- 27 -- 2009

Casual workers at the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Abuja Distribution Zone, have complained of hardship as a result of the poor remuneration they get from the organisation. Some of them who spoke to NEXT on Sunday, expressed disappointment over what they term as inhumane treatment meted out to them by the government. According to a staff who would not what to be identified, “Some of us have been working for 13 years as casual staff of this organisation and the management have been so inconsiderate to do something about it. Some of us hold our first degrees from reputable institutions and we collect as low as N10,000 every month. We accepted the offer because of lack of good employment opportunities outside but having worked for so long here, we expect the government to be rational enough to consider our plight and do something about it.

Inside sources reveal that over 60 per cent of the staff in Abuja distribution zone are casuals. Their stipend ranges from N5000 to N25, 000. The approved package is N25,000 across board but can change depending on who brought you in. Some temporary staff graduates receive N25,000 while the casual workers are paid N12,000. It is even worse in some cases where the stipend is reduced to N5000. A staff of the organisation disclosed that this happens when any of the Business Unit Managers goes out of his way to engage more casual workers than the stipulated. The N12,000 is then shared among two people to make sure that everybody gets something. The casual workers said having been unemployed for a long time, they accepted the offer so that their basic needs can be met but that the number of years they have put in should have stirred the management to consider their plight. The security and gate men at the organisation earn higher pays than some of these graduates. “They are contract staff and they receive between N16,000 toN17, 000 but we are paid N11,400 after tax deductions are made.” The low package had further pushed them further away from the good things of life. They cannot afford the high cost of rent in the city so they have to live in the satellite towns where basic amenities including the light they generate are not available and distribute are not available. They further posited that their monthly internally generated revenue is not less than N2Billon and asked why they should benefit from what they are labouring so much to bring about seeing that cost of living is becoming unbearably high in Abuja. They say it is often so dehumanising to see young graduates who got full employment earn higher than them and are rated higher in position than some of them who have several years in the organisation with nothing to show for it. The workers lamented that if they got full employment at the initial stage they should be ranked as managers today but they are still being treated as new comers. NLC complains Reacting to the plight of the workers, the National President of Nigerian Labour Congress, Abdulwaheed Omar, (NLC), said the organisation is only providing a legal platform for corruption to thrive. Mr. Omar told NEXT in a telephone chat that having casual workers is a serious problem which shows that the government is not yet sincere about the fight against corruption. “Government is not ready to tackle corruption headlong. There are lots of corrupt people in the system. The system isso rotten. How can a younger staff be earning millions while the senior staff is wallowing in poverty. PHCN should not think that they are helping the organisation economically by engaging hundreds of casual staff. It is a penny wise pound foolish kind of thing. The workers can only put in their best when they are well catered for. Why can’t they engage them fully; a worker deserves his wages. He continues, “Casualisation is euphemism for modern day slavery. It encourages corruption to a large extent. Mr. Omar said the Labour Congress can still picket organisations that are deeply involved in the use of casual workers or possibly staging a strike to discourage such. Efforts to get officials of the Power Holding Company’s Abuja Distribution zone to comment on the complaints proved abortive, as the Chief Executive Officer, Abdul Ganiyu Umar, was said to be in a meeting and its spokesperson, Debo Adegoke also declined to comment.

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