Six years after their disengagement from service by management following the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), a total of 48,000 disengaged staff of the company have decried the non-payment of their entitlements by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) since their disengagement.
The aggrieved staff while speaking with journalists on Saturday in Bauchi, through their spokesperson, Malam Hassan Musa Gar said that they have engaged the services of Barrister Emmanuel Okere of a law firm based in Abuja to pursue their entitlements from the concerned authorities including the BPE.
According to him, since their sacking by the PHCN, they have never collected any benefits or entitlement from any quarters adding that other unpaid entitlements owed to them 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.
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He lamented however that the BPE has caused news stories to be published in various media 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.
Hassan Musa Gar explained that the Forum was not conducting any verification but rather is collecting and collating signatures of the affected former workers of the company to enable them authorise the law firm to fight for their rights.
He further clarified that the N1,000 being contributed was for logistics and facilitation fees for the legal action being taken against the BPE pointing out that the PHCN trade union and other relevant stakeholders have failed to fight for them.
The spokesperson added that the contribution is not by force but opened to any willing person saying that, “anyone has the right to fight for his or her right by following the legal process,” assuring that what they are doing is not out of place as they are determined to get their rights no matter how long it takes to do so.
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