Government organises package for retired PHCN workers
Uche Aneke, Abuja
The Nigerian Minister of Power, Professor Bart Nnaji, says government has offered a severance package to workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
The package offers the least paid worker at least 2 Million naira while the highest paid workers will get as much as 38 million naira.
Professor Nnaji told an interactive session with Media Executives and reporters in Lagos that it was untrue that the workers were short-changed by as low as 85,000 Naira.
Workers welfare package
He said: "government has done everything possible to encourage healthy industrial relations and to take care of the workers welfare in the electricity sector by paying their monetization benefits and a 50 per cent salary increase. This includes an acceptance by the government to pay its half of the 15 per cent mandatory pension contribution. While government has fulfilled its part of the obligation, the workers never fulfilled their own part of the contribution, as required under the new pension scheme.
He criticised the workers' refusal to comply with the pension scheme of 2004, which required them to open their own individual Retirement Savings Account (RSA). They obstinately insisted on maintaining the old pension scheme which ceased to exist
since June 30th 2004.
Professor Nnaji called on the leadership of the various Workers Unions to allow their workers to open their RSA accounts with any Pension Administrator of their choice and expressed government’s willingness to continue to dialogue with the worker to ensure that there was peace and understanding in the sector.
The Minister of Power also acknowledged the recent increase in the power supply in the country and promised continued rise in power supply in the months to come.
Adekusibe/Hajia Sani
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