By Ozioruva Aliu
BENIN CITY — Electricity supply was disrupted in Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states on Monday after workers under the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) shut down facilities of BEDC Electricity Plc over disputes concerning emoluments and welfare packages.
At the company’s headquarters in Benin City, NUEE officials reportedly prevented staff from entering the premises and shut down key operational facilities, disrupting electricity supply from the early hours of Monday.
Some workers reportedly left their offices early, while the company’s management was said to be meeting with NUEE leaders to resolve the dispute as of the time of filing this report.
A senior staff member of the company, who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity, expressed surprise at the action, saying the management had recently reviewed workers’ emoluments.
“We are surprised at their action. Some of them even harassed some of our staff trying to record their actions. The current management recently reviewed their emoluments. I am surprised that they shut down facilities of the company,” the staff member said.
Attempts to reach the Edo State Chairman of NUEE, Williams Uwumarogie, for comments were unsuccessful, as several calls to his phone were not answered.
However, the Acting Edo State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Bernard Egwakide, said the congress had previously intervened in the labour dispute.
He said NUEE leaders were meeting with BEDC management and that the outcome would determine whether the NLC would intervene again.
“But right now, the leadership of NUEE is in a meeting with the management of the company. Let us see how far they can resolve it; that will determine if we will intervene,” Egwakide said.
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