By Tina Amanda
The Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) has issued a stern warning to the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) over the failure to pay 13 months of workers’ salary arrears.
The union has threatened to commence industrial action starting January 1, 2025, if the company does not meet its demands.
In a letter dated December 10, 2024, and addressed to PHEDC management, the union, through its Deputy General Secretary, Comrade Innocent Lord-Douglass, demanded immediate payment of the salary arrears and full implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on August 14, 2024.
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The letter also revealed that SSAEAC has directed that all PHEDC offices be locked down if the demands are not met before the end of December.
“We are constrained to put you on notice of a renewed industrial action with your company starting from January 1, 2025, if your management refuses to pay the 13-month salary arrears before December 31, 2024,” the letter stated.
The union accused PHEDC management of breaching the terms of the August 2024 MOU, highlighting several unresolved issues, including:
“You are also demanded to comply and fully execute the agreed signed MOU with your management on the 14th of August 2024( copy attached) Also, the leadership frowned that despite the signed MOU, your management flagrantly refused the payment of the outstanding 25 months pension arrears(non-remittance of both current and arrears since September 2024).
‘Also, very disheartening is the refusal and non-remittance of the third party deductions (cooperative). Staff are committed to cooperatives to enable them to save for projects and to have immediate access to urgent funds to solve their problems, but management’s non-remittance of cooperative deducted from workers is wicked.”
SSAEAC further lamented that workers have not been promoted for 11 years, and their salaries have remained stagnant over the same period. The union also criticized the management’s withdrawal from a sensitization tour aimed at improving communication with workers across PHEDC’s franchise areas.
The letter urged PHEDC management to act responsibly and prioritize workers’ welfare, emphasizing the need for balanced decision-making that considers both the interests of the workforce and the company.
The union has directed its members to refrain from resuming work on January 1, 2025, if the issues remain unresolved, with plans to keep all PHEDC offices locked. SSAEAC disclosed that it has notified allied unions and security agencies about the impending industrial action.
This development places PHEDC management under intense pressure to address the workers’ grievances promptly to avert disruption to power distribution in its service areas.
