The Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) FCT chapter, has debunked insinuations of industrial crisis between it and management of the organization.
The Chairman of SSAEAC, TCN Chapter, Comrade Abidemi Dairo, in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja, maintained that the union in TCN had written to the law enforcement agencies to investigate the purported planned industrial action by the national leadership .
The union chairman, while responding to a letter by the leadership of Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the national management of SSAEAC of a planned industrial action against the management of TCN, said both parties have written to the Inspector-General of Police, (IGP), with the document submitted on March 14.
Dairo, said: “we received a message from TUC and the President-General of SSAEAC through SSAEAC’s Secretary-General, that they are coming to declare industrial dispute in TCN.
He maintained that salaries were paid as at when due ,noting that“I don’t see any reason or any condition that will warrant industrial dispute.’’
“It is unfortunate, we don’t have any condition to warrant industrial dispute in TCN, because we receive our salary as at when due.
“Go to any TCN formation and find out, we get our salary before the 20th day of every month, recently we did promotion and most of us got the promotion.
“And some of us that are yet to get, we still put up an appeal, so that they can get their promotion.
The union leader said effort of the present management and staff of the company to reposition it had resulted in improved services in the electricity value chain.
He said any industrial action against an organisation must be with the support of the internal union of the organisation.
Dairo further urged TCN workers to maintain decorum and remain committed to the discharge of their duties by avoiding the activities of detractors.
“ TCN previously used to be known as the weakest link in the electricity power chain, but now it is one of the strongest links due to the effort of the present management of TCN.
“I think we should aspire to move forward and this has been the collective effort of the staff, our members in the organisation.
“For somebody to now come from outside to say he is coming to declare industrial dispute, we are not part of it.’’
“We have also involved the DSS headquarters to intimate them that these people are planning to come and cause trouble in TCN.
“Sometime last year, they came and mobilised thugs to come and disrupt economic activities in TCN.
“But it was stopped by well-meaning Nigerians, who defeated them and now they are planning another strike action.’’
“TCN staff should remember, where we were a year ago and where we are now, we used to be the weakest link, but now we are one of the strongest in the power system now.’’
“But in this case, TCN SSAEAC is not part of the planned industrial action.
“We want to state categorically clear that anything that will disrupt the Nigerian system, anything that will lead to economic sabotage in Nigeria, we are not in support.
“So we appeal to law enforcement agencies not to take a side, they should do their investigation on the document we submitted to them.’’
