Two major electricity unions have suspended their planned nationwide strike following the intervention of the Federal Government.
The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) had threatened to embark on industrial action over unresolved issues in the power sector.
The workers had earlier planned to down tools to press home their demands from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) over non-implementation of the national minimum wage and other operational issues.
The union decided to suspend the strike after extensive discussions with representatives of the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu and the labour unions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at the end of the meeting in Abuja on Thursday night.
A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), sighted by NAN in Abuja on Friday, revealed that the agreement was signed by representatives of the Ministers of Power and Labour, as well as leaders of the labour unions.
Other signatories to the MoU include representatives of the TCN and the National Independent System Operator(NISO), who signed on behalf of the federal government.
While the General Secretary of SSAEAC and the acting General Secretary of NUEE signed for the labour unions.
The MoU said, ”After extensive discussions, the following agreements were reached: Among the agreements was the decision for the unions to consider the report of a standing committee between Oct. 6 and Oct.7, with a view to commencing its implementation in the same month.
In addition, TCN and NISO are to jointly evaluate the financial implications of the report and prepare an implementation plan for presentation to the minister and the unions.
It was further resolved that both unions would reconvene with TCN and NISO management to address other outstanding issues.
The MoU also directed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to fast-track the review of tariffs for TCN and NISO to enable implementation of the committee’s recommendations.
The MoU also included a key clause stating that no employee would be victimised for participating in the industrial action.
Following the agreement, and in a show of good faith, the unions announced the suspension of the planned strike to allow for the implementation of the resolutions reached during negotiations.
(NAN)
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