The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday picketed the headquarters of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) in Abuja over the alleged disengagement of about 900 workers, warning that failure to resolve the matter within 48 hours could disrupt electricity supply. The action disrupted activities at the company’s headquarters, with staff directed to vacate their offices.
Speaking during the picketing, NLC President, Mr. Joe Ajaero, said the union intervened after discovering that many of the affected workers were allegedly dismissed despite earlier claims that only employees nearing retirement would be impacted. He said preliminary investigations indicated that several of those disengaged were neither at retirement age nor close to it, raising concerns about fairness and compliance with labour laws.
Ajaero described the disengagement as “a deceitful and dangerous trend” in the power sector, noting that some of the affected workers had between two and six years of service.
“A majority of those affected were not at retirement age. Some had only worked for two to three years. That is the height of deceit,” he said.
He explained that the union initially accepted the exercise based on AEDC’s assurance that it would affect only retiring workers. However, he said subsequent findings revealed that many of those disengaged did not meet that condition.
According to him, AEDC had promised to review the exercise, but no action had been taken six months after that commitment.
The NLC President warned that similar practices were emerging across other electricity distribution companies, posing potential risks to the sector.
“If nothing is done within 48 hours, we cannot guarantee power supply, as workers will withdraw their services,” Ajaero said.
He added that the industrial action would be extended to all AEDC zones if the company failed to respond to the union’s demands.
Ajaero also called on the company to publish the details of the disengaged workers to ensure transparency and enable public scrutiny. He further raised concerns about poor conditions of service and unresolved welfare issues in the sector.
He stressed that the union was not demanding anything outside the law, but insisted that justice must be done for all affected workers in line with labour regulations.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of AEDC was unavailable to meet the NLC leadership at a scheduled meeting.
