Two major electricity workers’ unions have called off their planned nationwide strike after the Federal Government stepped in.
The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) had earlier threatened to go on strike because of unresolved problems in the power sector.
The workers were planning to stop work to push for their demands, including the implementation of the national minimum wage and other issues with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
However, after long discussions with representatives from the Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, and labour unions, the strike was suspended.
Reports said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at the end of the meeting, which was held on Thursday night in Abuja.
A copy of the agreement seen by journalists on Friday showed that it was signed by representatives from the Ministries of Power and Labour, and leaders of the unions.
Other people who signed the agreement included officials from the TCN and the National Independent System Operator (NISO), representing the Federal Government.
The General Secretary of SSAEAC and the Acting General Secretary of NUEE signed the document on behalf of the workers.
The MoU stated that after detailed talks, several agreements were reached. One of them was for the unions to review a report from a standing committee between October 6 and 7, and begin implementation later that month.
It was also agreed that TCN and NISO would assess the financial cost of the report and create a plan to carry it out. This plan would then be presented to the Minister and the unions.
Both unions also agreed to meet again with TCN and NISO management to work on other remaining issues.
The MoU instructed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to speed up the review of tariffs for TCN and NISO. This would help make the committee’s recommendations easier to put into action.
Another important part of the agreement was that no worker would be punished for taking part in the strike action.
After signing the agreement, the unions decided to suspend the strike to give time for the agreed plans to be carried out.
