Unions shut down TCN stations across Nigeria

Many states of the federation have been thrown into darkness as Labour Unions shut down major TCN stations across the country, cutting power supply to electricity consumers.

Electricity workers under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) had on Tuesday, August 16, grounded the operations of TCN nationwide with the picketing of its office across the country for reneging on the agreement it had reached with the unions some years ago.

The aggrieved electricity workers who had vowed to paralyse the operations of TCN over its anti-masses activities said that the exercise that they carried out on Tuesday was a prelude to an indefinite strike action which is expected to commence today (Wednesday, August 17).

Despite appeals from the Minister of State for Power and the TCN management for time to resolve the issues, the electricity workers appeared adamant as they made good their threat to continue with their industrial action.

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NUEE in a letter dated August 16, 2022, signed by its General Secretary, Joe Ajaero, and addressed to the Minister of State for Power, said that members of the union would continue with its industrial action with a total withdrawal of service on Wednesday.

Ajaero in the letter expressed regrets that the agreement that the union reached with TCN due to the intervention of the minister has not been implemented 3 years after.

“It is disheartening that an agreement reached with the union as a result of the interventions from your esteemed office almost 3 years down the line has not been implemented. Unfortunately, the issues raised and not addressed have relapsed/metamorphosed as part of the causes of the industrial unrest in the sector.

“However, the union is still open to decisive discussions with relevant actions, with a view to proffering solutions to the issues raised and averting the total collapse of the sector.

Recall that on May 18, 2022, the NUEE had issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of TCN, threatening a total withdrawal of their services over some unresolved issues.

Some of those issues include the alleged failure of the Federal Government to pay the entitlement of former staff of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in December 2019, the directive that all principal managers in acting capacity upgrading to acting-general manager capacity must appear for a promotion interview.

Meanwhile, Ikeja Electric in a statement has informed its customers about the ongoing nationwide picketing of Transmission Stations by the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) which disrupted the power supply in Lagos.

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According to IKEDC, “we are currently experiencing disruption of power supply as most stations within our network have been shut down. Kindly bear with us as we await an amicable resolution by the relevant stakeholders.

“Thank you for your usual understanding and cooperation”, it said.