Operations at the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KADECO) have been disrupted as employees embarked on an indefinite strike to protest an alleged plan by the management to sack over 900 staff.
The industrial action, which commenced on Monday, saw aggrieved workers under the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) barricading the corporate headquarters of KADECO in Kaduna. They prevented employees and customers from accessing the premises, wielding placards with various inscriptions expressing their displeasure.
The North West Zonal Organising Secretary of NUEE, Barde, outlined the workers’ grievances, accusing the management of high-handedness and blatant disregard for industrial agreements.
He lamented the company’s failure to pay exit benefits to employees who retired or resigned in the last five years, vowing that the union would resist the mass retrenchment.
Other demands by the striking workers include the nonpayment of five years’ outstanding pensions, non-implementation of the national minimum wage, lack of staff promotions, and inadequate provision of work tools essential for efficient service delivery.
A KADECO staff member at the company’s Kaduna head office, who spoke anonymously, in a separate interview told NewsDirect that employees remain in the dark about the full list of those affected.
“We don’t know who is on the list yet. They are handing out letters one by one,” she disclosed.
Expressing her frustration, she added, “I am tired of this country. I don’t even know if my name is among those affected. The head office didn’t open today because of the situation.”
When asked if there was an official list of those affected, she replied in the negative, saying, “They are just sharing sack letters randomly.”
Meanwhile, a letter dated January 31, 2025, from KADECO management directed affected employees to return all company property in their possession to the human resources department.
The letter, signed by KADECO’s Deputy Managing Director, Abubakar Mohammed, confirmed that the affected workers’ services were no longer required, effective immediately, with assurances that severance packages would be processed.
The strike as at the time of filing this report has affected electricity distribution in Kaduna and its environs, as workers insist on their demands before returning to duty.
