Tina Amanda
The Electricity Workers Union has called on the state governments of South-South region, all security agencies and stakeholders to immediately intervene and restrain the Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHEDC, Henry Ajagbawa, from sacking over one hundred and twenty staff.
Acting General Secretary, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, South-South Zone, Comrade Innocent Lord-Douglas, who stated this to newsmen in Port Harcourt, said the management of PHED has concluded plans to serve retrenchment letters to over one hundred and twenty staff come June 1st, 2020.
He noted that the PHED has declined to respond to several letters written by the union on the issue, adding that the Managing Director has also refused to sign conditions of service for staff since resumption of office, six months ago, but rather resulted to the use of PHED manufactured sanctioned grid code to intimidate electricity workers.
“Information gathered is that the Managing Director is going to sack one hundred and twenty staff, majority of whom are Rivers people, for his personal reasons which we don’t know and we are having concerns and fear why he wants to do that.
“We are telling the MD and CEO that they are not going to succeed in this venture. I have sent letters to the DSS, Police, State government, House of Assembly in the whole four States of PHEDC operations must call on this man and stop him.
“He cannot send out one hundred and twenty staff to the public, where does he want them to go even in this of COVID 19 pandemic? In case of any break down of law and order, they should hold the Managing Director of PHED responsible”
Comrade Lord-Douglas further advised all staff of PHED not to accept to sign any letter of retrenchment presented to them.
“Let no PHEDC staff take up any letter without knowing the content of the letter, no staff should sign any sack letter that is intimidating to them from the PHED, no staff should leave their office paraventure they are asked to evacuate the office.
“We are all stakeholders in the power industry, many of our members have put in over eight years in the PHED service and in law, any worker that have put up to five years in an establishment is entitled to gratuity. No staff is going, no staff is going to sign any sack letter”
On his part, Human Right Advocate, Barrister Higher King, said legal action will be taking against the management of PHEDC should they go on and sack workers come June 1st 2020.
“PHED is partly owned by the government, so these staff are pensionable staff. How can they wake up and sack workers who have put in seventeen, twenty years, and say go home without nothing, you don’t do such a thing, because that will increase criminality, it’s injustice.
“Labour law does not permit that, if they go ahead now to sack, every action taken will be nullified in court, we are definitely going to go to court, that is the position as it is right now.
“Information I got is that PHED made lots of money during the COVID-19 lockdown, because people were at home, they had power supply and they bought more electricity scratch cards, there was no time I heard PHED stopped collecting electricity bill from consumers during the lockdown, so why should they sack staff when they were not affected by the pandemic”
Higher King however condemned the recent sack of the Branch President, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, Comrade Paulinus Aniedi, from PHEDC as unjust.
Meanwhile, the sacked Branch President, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies South-South, Comrade Paulinus Aniedi, has also appealed to the Rivers state government to intervene in the unjust action meted out on him by Henry Ajagbawa, Managing Director Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company.
Aniedi who made the appeal in Port Harcourt while briefing newsmen on the situation, claimed that his sack came as a result of the confrontation Henry Ajagbawa had with Governor Nyesom Wike during the lockdown period.
According to him, the Managing Director PHED had threatened to sack indigenes of Rivers State, Akwa Ibom and all south south staff from PHEDC as a result of what happened between him and the Governor of Rivers State
“The issue on ground is between the Managing Director of PHEDC, Henry Ajagbawa, who is standing on the right of staff by claiming that he is going to sack the entire workforce of PHEDC especially the indigenes of Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom.
“This matter started when he was arrested by Governor Nyesom Wike when the Governor was going round to see the compliance with the COVID-19 lockdown. He was unable to identify himself, on that process the Governor asked the security operatives to send him to isolation Centre.
“The information I got from him was that he will avenge the anger on the Staff and he will sack over one hundred and twenty staff. When I asked why he wants to sack the workers unjustly, he filed for my sack. Even the Committee set up found me faultless, yet I was sacked for confronting him on the matter”
