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Workers of the Ogun State Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), have embarked on an indefinite strike, Thursday morning.
The strike, according to the workers is hinged on non-implimentation of the new minimum wage, non remittance of pension and cooperative deductions, alleged disengagement of 17 staff among other staff welfare concerns.
DAILY POST observed that the IBEDC office located along Abiola way, Abeokuta, was under lock and key, just as workers were seen with placards bearing inscriptions as “ Pay our PFA, cooperative deductions now” IBEDC reverse your illegal disengagement of our members now” “Implement the new minimum wage” amongst others.
Speaking with DAILY POST, the Vice President of National Union of Electricity Employees, Lagos-Ogun Zone, Engr. Abiodun Shobayo said demonstration is to express their grievances, saying “Enough is enough and they must listen to our voice.”
He noted that the workers were left with no choice than to embark on the indefinite strike given the unwillingness of the IBEDC management to attend to their concerns for the past nine months.
Shobayo said, “ We started our action this morning and we are staying put and fighting for our rights. we have been cheated and we want to ensure that we are treated like human beings.
“We are here this morning to say enough is enough, that the IBEDEC management cannot continue to take us for a ride for issues we have been talking to them for about nine months.
“For instance, our pensions and cooperative deductions running to billions of naira are not remitted, we are not given imprest, people have been using their personal money to run the company, to clear electricity faults , go about to distribute electricity bills.
“The management is not ready to implement the new minimum wage, ever since it was signed it has not been implemented, they have not even sat down to even talk to us on the minimum wage.They have also started sacking workers indiscriminately without recourse to the conditions of service.
“About 17 of our members are already affected but we have said this cannot stay, we have tried to be patient with them but it is like they have a hidden agenda. Just recently, 900 staff of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company were sacked, we don’t want such here.
“70% of people working here are casuals and we have said this is not right. Anyway, the strike is indefinite until the management is ready to see reason with us. The strike action cuts across where we have IBEDEC franchise and these are the six states of the South-West, Kwara and Kogi”.
“We demand that all monies owed us should be paid, the sacked workers must be reinstated and then we can be talking about calling the strike off”, he added.
When contacted, the Ogun Public Relations officer of IBEDC, Deji Bada, declined comment.
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