By Eberechi Obinagwam
Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, (SSAEAC), has stated that the NERC’s minimum remittance order of DisCo value chain is at the verge of collapse due to nonpayment of or incomplete workers’ salaries.
In a statement issued by the deputy general secretary, Comrade Nnamdi Ajibo, the recent Minimum Remittance Orders issued to Discos which required Discos to pay 100% of MO Invoice and minimum percentage of NBET bill, without taking salary of staff that collect the revenue into consideration, is a major oversight that can trigger a domino effect capable of pulling down the sector‘s market.
He explained that the reason is that most DisCos are not paying the paltry staff salaries as and when due or the full amounts.
According to him, the potential negative impact of this situation is better imagined because a hungry worker will not collect money and return it or be healthy in mind to do his best.
He said, as a historical insight, salaries and minimum operational costs were treated as first-line charges in the pre-privatization time hence the relative higher collection efficiencies of the time.
He further disclosed that labour crisis will be averted if the honourable minister will consider their contributions of making staff salary first line charge instead of last line charge.
Explaining that, under the NERC Orders, staff salary is considered as last-line charge instead of first-line charge, against global labour practice, International conventions and Nigeria Labour Laws of ILO Protection of Wages Convention, No 95.
“This is not acceptable and cannot be allowed to continue as it has big potential to make workers withdraw services and ground the sector, which can be avoided by this contribution, if taken seriously.
“Already, such crises have happened in Jos and Kaduna DisCos where the sector Unions reacted to such situations, with obvious collection drop consequences,” he said.
According to him, the contributions were based from first-hand information on the goings in all parts of the sector.
“From equipment gap to metering gap; investment gap to understaffing; poor cash-flow to irregular and incomplete salary payments for services rendered; and collection and remittance gap.
“NERC the Regulator has been docile in facing its responsibilities, but rose to the occasion by issuing Orders on minimum remittances by all DisCos. In our opinion, NERC did a professional work by updating all parameters (tariff values, inflation rates, exchange rates, ATCC losses, etc) and applying same to arrive at fair financial positions of each of the DisCos.
“We note that the DisCos may have complaints even with this effort and encourage more dialogue and studies towards a better Regulation of the sector,” he said.
He however, recommended that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory commission, (NERC), should verify sector workers salaries with a view guaranteeing timely and full payment by first line charge principle, adjust the minimum remittance percentages to accommodate the need for timely and full payment of salaries and consider setting standard emoluments for sector workers to elicit higher productivity in the whole sector for urgent implementation.
He noted that presently, ancillary service providers (NERC and NBET) earn more than the first -line workers/operators risk takers on Gencos, TCN and DisCos.