Ajaero said the electricity workers would take a pause on the industrial action and wait for two weeks as agreed.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Electricity workers on Wednesday night announced the suspension of their strike which caused total blackout nationwide.
The electricity workers under the joint umbrella of National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEC) agreed to suspend the industrial action, following the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.
Following a four-hour meeting, President of NUEE, Comrade Joe Ajero, said they have been asked to suspend their strike action.
The issues in contention are the alleged contravention in their conditions of service and career progression, stigmatisation of electricity staff by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation and refusal of the market operators to fund the payment of entitlements of ex-PHCN staff as agreed in the December 2019 agreement.
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Ajaero expressed hope that the Federal Government would act in good faith on the issues in dispute which have lingered for years, to a very dangerous point.
He said the electricity workers would take a pause on the industrial action and wait for two weeks as agreed in the meeting for the government to address their grievances.
Ngige told reporters that they agreed to constitute a bipartite committee to look into the grievances of the electricity workers and report back in two weeks.
According to Ngige, the members of the bipartite committee include the Minister of State for Power, Jeddy Agba (Chairman), Permanent Secretary, Office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Permanent Secretary, General Services, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, representative of BPE and two representatives from NUEE and SSAEC.
