In what the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) styled as part a re-organisation aimed at optimum performance, it has sacked 150 workers.
Majority of the sacked workers were marketers, linesmen, network engineers, cable joiners and electrical fitters, serving in its four states of Plateau, Gombe, Bauchi and Benue.
In the sack letters signed by Head, Human Resources and Support Services, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed, the management simply told them that “their services are no longer required in the company”.
However, Mohammed informed the eased out workers that they would be paid one month’s salary in lieu of notice, and warned them against impersonating as workers of the company.
Already all the workers are alleging abuse of labour laws in their sack, pointing out that JEDC failed to settle their entitlements before sacking them, hinting also, that they were only paid half salary in September without any explanation before their sack this month.
The aggrieved workers roundly rejected JEDC claims that those sacked were old and unproductive, arguing that most of them were young persons’ engaged “a few years ago”.
In his quick defense, JEDC Managing Director, Alhaji Gidado Modibbo, said the ‘weeding exercise’ was aimed at ridding the company of ‘dead woods’.
“We assess workers based on performance. Those sacked fell short of minimum expectations. Some were too old for the jobs they were handling.
“We even had Faults Men that were more than 60 years and blind. We had to ask them to go because they could not climb electric poles and were not adding any value to us,” he said.
Modibbo further denied that JEDC paid half salaries in September, and explained that they received 70 percent of their wages because management had set a target and resolved to base salaries on it.
Giving more reasons on the sack, JEDC Director of Communications, Dr Friday Elijah, noted that the main parameter used for the sack was performance.
He cited that observed poor performance in the areas of revenue drive, saying “Last month, for instance, we distributed N4 billion worth of energy but realised only N950 million. It means that many workers are not productive, hence our resolve to ask them to go.”
