The management of Enugu Electricity Distribution PLC (EEDC), the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) have signed fresh pact aimed at bolstering partnership between the management and the workers.
This came with an assurance by the EEDC of total compliance to the contents of the just signed Procedural Agreement.
The assurance was conveyed to the leadership of the two Unions, NUEE and SSAEAC by the Head of Human Resources & Administration, EEDC, Dr. Emmanuel Nwokolo, during the signing ceremony of the Procedural Agreement between the parties at EEDC Corporate Headquarters in Enugu.
Nwokolo, who represented the Management of EEDC at the signing ceremony recalled that the journey started four years ago and that the management was happy that it has come to a peaceful and successful end.
“This is a journey which started years ago with deliberations and counter deliberations, arguments and counter arguments, disagreements and agreements, all geared towards arriving at a unanimous set of guidelines for better relationship and coexistence between the workforce and the management of the EEDC”, he said.
While delivering his remark, Nwokolo enumerated some of the challenges the company is faced with, which include huge unpaid electricity bills by electricity customers, meter bypass, vandalism of power facilities, and all forms of illegalities. He then appealed to the Union to come up with ways of assisting the company to tackle the aforementioned challenges.
Speaking on behalf of NUEE, its General Secretary, Mr. Joe Ajaero, emphasized that in unionism and the fight for industrial harmony, “there’s no permanent friend, no permanent enemy.”
He stated that with the Procedural Agreement and Conditions of Service in place, there will be mutual trust amongst the management, staff and the union, and this will definitely impact positively on productivity and revenue growth.
The SSAEAC spokesperson, Comrade Joseph Onwukanjo, who represented the President-General, Engr. Chris Okonkwo, expressed joy as the parties have peacefully concluded negotiations on the procedural agreement and encouraged all parties to abide by its provisions.
In his own reaction, the State Controller, Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment, Mr. Umunna Chuka, who has been overseeing the negotiations between EEDC and the Unions charged the parties to strictly adhere to the provisions of the Procedural Agreements and Conditions of Service.
He said that it was a new beginning which will pave way for industrial peace and further advance EEDC as a business.
