The Edo State Chairman of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Uhumaogie Owenaze William, has accused the management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) of failing to increase workers’ salaries since 2013, insisting that no agreement has been reached to resolve the ongoing strike.
William also alleged that the company was still owing workers five years’ arrears of long-service awards, adding that employees had not benefited from any significant improvement in their welfare since 2022.
“Life gives chance to everyone of us. We are doing what we are doing for the benefit of the staff.
“They are lying. No agreement was reached. They did a wrong thing on Tuesday. They were invited to Abuja but they refused to go and they went to the press to say everything has been resolved. Nothing has been resolved.
“BEDC has not increased salary from 2013 till date. Long service award was done after much pressure from the union.
“They promised to pay long service award in January this year. We start mounting pressure on them. They are still owing five years arrears long service award. Workers have not benefitted anything since 2022,” he said.
The strike, which began in the early hours of Monday, entered its third day on Wednesday, disrupting business activities in Benin City, while several Edo State Government offices relied on generators to maintain operations.
Some private offices and commercial centres affected by the power outage were also making efforts to install solar panels as alternative sources of electricity.
When New Telegraph visited the Edo State Secretariat, many civil servants were seen working mainly on the ground floor, as some workers were unable to access offices on upper floors because the lifts were not functioning due to the power outage.
The generators available were being used to power only offices accessed by workers, while a power plant near
the Deputy Governor’s office at Government House was running to provide electricity to the facility.The industrial action involves BEDC workers under the NUEE in Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states.
As of Tuesday, the BEDC management said the company had lost at least N2 billion to the strike.
A management staff member of the company said efforts to resolve the dispute had failed, alleging that the union had remained adamant despite several meetings.
“All the meetings that have been called have failed. The workers insisted that they would not go back to work. The security agencies including the Department of State Services (DSS) have called several meetings including late Tuesday night that did not yield results.”
The Edo State Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Godwin Esheshie, was said to be on his way to Abuja for a meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to find a resolution to the dispute.
The state Commissioner for Energy, Paul Usenbo, said the government was concerned about the strike and was working towards resolving the disagreement between the company and its workers.
Usenbo disclosed that he participated in a meeting convened by the DSS as part of efforts to end the industrial action.
According to him, “The state is committed to ensuring that there is a resolution in respect of this matter. I have been on top of it, I was in the management and the Union yesterday, we have put in efforts to try and ensure that management resolves their issue.
“The two basic issues that have been very paramount in this discussion has been the harmonisation of salaries and increment.
“As I speak to you there is going to be a meeting held today this afternoon in Abuja championed by the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Commissioner of Labor is enroute for that mission as we speak.”
