NEPA Workers Kick Against ESCOM
By Onwudo Francis and Hilda Esin
Following the recent reform going on in the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has vowed to resist any foreign company that would come to exploit its workers.
The union frowned upon the operation of ESCOM, a foreign company, in the country. It noted that the company came into the country illegally, stressing that the operators were not patriotic and wouldl not work in the interest of the country.
According to the the Head of Media Relations of the union, Comrade Joe Ajaero, ESCOM, which is handling the energy sector of Uganda and Namibia, had a record of hostile industrial relations practice. For instance, in Uganda, he said, the energy company had reduced its workforce from about 335 to about 85 and plans to further reduce it with the improvement in workers' welfare.
He also stated that in Namibia the company had sponsored a factional group in spite of a court order that it is in favour of one original union.
Ajaero declared that the volcanise the sector and reduce the number of workers. "Their aim is to come here, bulkanise the sector and reduce the workforce" he declared.
He further stated that the implication of the reduction of the workforce in Nigeria economy is to worsen the social system and this will also lead to jobless people walking about the street, pointing out that it will also lead to armed robbery, social decadence because people will have to struggle to survive.
The workers argued that if the privatisation of NEPA was properly implemented, there would be employment opportunities in the country. "If government is really sincere, if there is only one company like NEPA with 24,000 people working there, and it is split into 18 companies you will expect more people to work in the various companies, thereby creating employment," he argued.
He further said that the country's problem has not been as a result of policies but because of the lack of political will to implement them. It urged government to put the people that are credible to implement the bill so as to achieve its desired goals. It noted that if the intention of the programme was laudable, there would be the wrong people to implement it.
Speaking on the trade union bill with the National Assembly, Ajaero faulted the process in which President Olusegun Obasanjo sent the bill to the National Assembly instead of following the normal procedure of National Labour Advisory Coumed (NLAC).
"Before you amend any law in Labour circle, you will have what you call tripartite arrangement you have the workers, employer and government, they come together to discuss and maybe push some law to the National Assembly" he said.
He declared that the bill was an intention of aging the Nigerian Labour Congress. He noted that Obasanjo wants to have more labour centres but failed to recognise The Trade Union Congress (UTUC) and confederation of Free Trade Union )CFTU) which is still waiting for recogination.
|
