{"id":7675,"date":"2013-08-03T21:39:51","date_gmt":"2013-08-03T21:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigerian-newspapers\/govt-begins-payment-of-severance-benefits-to-electricity-workers\/"},"modified":"2013-08-03T21:39:51","modified_gmt":"2013-08-03T21:39:51","slug":"govt-begins-payment-of-severance-benefits-to-electricity-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/govt-begins-payment-of-severance-benefits-to-electricity-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Govt Begins Payment Of Severance Benefits To Electricity Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2022 How Procedural Issues Caused Delay <\/strong><\/p>\n

ELECTRICITY workers, who are to give way for new private owners of Nigeria\u2019s electricity utilities to take over, have started getting their severance packages, according to the Federal Government.<\/p>\n

   There were initial concerns that firms who had paid the initial 25 per cent were skeptical about paying the balance of 75 per cent because of the lingering crisis between government and the workers, as the new plant owners want government to sort out its issues with Labour to allow a smooth take-off.<\/p>\n

   Information from the Ministry of Power indicate that over 9000 electricity workers in 17 successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have started getting alerts from their banks.<\/p>\n

   The Ministry told The Guardian at the weekend that the telephones of electricity workers are already buzzing with alerts from their banks indicating actual payment from government.<\/p>\n

   The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, told The Guardian: \u201cIt has commenced. The workers have started getting alerts in their accounts. The payment will be in batches instead of piecemeal payment for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

  He said: \u201cPayment into individual accounts has started. It will come in tranches. It is not safe to estimate end date because of factors that no single individual can control. For example, initial directive for payments to commence was given over two weeks ago, but apparently, procedural matters in Accountant-General\u2019s office took a little more time.\u201d<\/p>\n

   He said the power sector neglect has been as a result of the wrong notion that classified power as a social welfare service. He observed that it was only in 1999 with the return of Nigeria to democracy that the gross neglect got addressed, even as he said that the country now generates more than 4000MW of electricity.<\/p>\n

   Speaking through his Special Assistant on Media, Kande Daniel, the Minister assured Nigerians that at the end of the ongoing privatisation, generator importers will be eased out of business.<\/p>\n

   Confirming that payment of severance package to PHCN staff has actually commenced, Nebo gave a breakdown of the figures to indicate that about N384bn would be spent with additional N16bn as payment to other retirees and pensioners of the company.<\/p>\n

   In December 2012, government and Labour sealed a pact for the reform to continue. Both parties shifted grounds substantially, with government agreeing to some of the lingering demands of the unions. The total workers pension as at June 30, 2007 was to be paid in accordance with the 2010 PHCN conditions of service: 25 per cent is payable to exiting PHCN workers while 75 per cent shall be paid into the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs).<\/p>\n

   The total accrued gratuity, as at June 30, 2012, was to be paid in accordance with the defined benefit scheme stipulated in the PHCN 2010 conditions of service, 15 per cent pension contribution was to be paid from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2012 in accordance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2004.<\/p>\n

  It was also agreed that severance should be paid as 20 per cent of total accrued benefits, among others.<\/p>\n

   Labour is raising fresh alarm that government has failed to respect June 30, 2012 accrued gratuity agreement, among others.<\/p>\n

  Speaking on recent allegations that government failed to consider paying one year accrued gratuity because of the delay in implementing the agreement, Nebo said: \u201cThe position is nothing like that was envisaged in the original agreement. Government is sticking strictly to the spirit and letter of the agreement, which is already at the last stage. Labour should understand that anything that will halt the process will be to no one\u2019s interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

     The Minister also dismissed what Labour has described as unfair promotions in which the workers are accusing government of allegedly trying to break its ranks by promoting some of the agitating workers.<\/p>\n

  \u201cThe position is that government believes that the promotions were deserved. They are cases of those whose promotions were unduly delayed for inexplicable reasons. Government felt that the anomaly should be corrected to ensure that those affected leave service happy. The allegation that it is meant to break the ranks of Labour does not arise. Instead, government should be praised and Labour should be happy at the development, because it is their colleagues that are involved,\u2019 he noted.<\/p>\n

     Government also dismissed the workers\u2019 allegations that they wrote and recommended to the Ministry to be handed the PHCN firms to manage instead of privatising the utilities. The workers\u2019 union has spoken of how they could transform the sector and generate much higher revenue than the \u2018peanuts\u2019 government was selling the utilities to private firms for.<\/p>\n

   Nebo stressed:  \u201cNobody was excluded from bidding. If Labour felt it had the capacity, they should have put up a bid. It would be out of place to reserve the option of buying the companies to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

  As at end of biometrics and all verification, over four weeks ago, excluding persons who had issues with their records, there were more than 9,000, the Ministry said.<\/p>\n

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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: Guardian Newspaper<\/p>\n

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