The industrial action taken by workers of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company has plunged residents of Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi states into darkness.
The workers, organized under the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees, started an indefinite strike on Tuesday after protesting against what they described as unfair treatment from the company's management.
The workers were reportedly aggrieved due to six years of unremitted pension, non-payment of death benefits for deceased staff, failure to pay exit packages, the unjust termination of seven staff in Zaria, and an alleged plan to lay off over 1,000 workers, among other grievances.
However, in a statement issued by its Head of Corporate Communication, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, the management of Kaduna Disco condemned the industrial action, deeming it completely unjustified.
Abdulazeez pointed out that choosing this path at the very beginning of the holy month of Ramadan and causing more discomfort to Nigerians by embarking on a misguided strike and preventing staff from carrying out their legitimate duties speaks volumes about the union's motive.
Abdulazeez revealed that the union's request for payment of overdue pension arrears is included in the historical debts accrued during two previous administrations.
“One wonders why the union failed to prioritise the payments then until now. This is a clear indication that the union has other motives yet unknown to us”, he stated.
