The 48, 000 disengaged staff of the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have decried the non-payment of their entitlements by
the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) since their disengagement six years ago following
the privatisation of the company.
Speaking with journalists yesterday in Bauchi,
spokesperson of the former workers, Malam Hassan Gar, said they have engaged
the services of Mr. Emmanuel Okere law firm in Abuja to pursue their
entitlements.
According to him, since their sack, they never collected
any benefits, adding that other unpaid entitlements owed them by the company include
7.5 per cent of federal government contribution of their pensions; arrears for
personal/individual contributions for 16 months; 10 per cent equity share 'as
required by law' and pre-retirement training allowances.
He lamented however that BPE allegedly published a
report last week insinuating that coordinators of the forum of the disengaged
staff were scamming the former employees by collecting the sum of N1, 000 from
each person for verification.
Gar clarified that the forum was not conducting any
verification but was collecting signatures of the affected former workers of
the company to enable them authorise the law firm to fight for their rights.
He further stated that the N1, 000 collected was
logistics and facilitation fees for the legal action taken against the BPE,
pointing out that the PHCN trade union and other relevant stakeholders failed
to fight for them.
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