EEDC STAFF PROTEST AGAINST ALLEGED ANTI LABOUR POLICIES.

Members of staff of  Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC,yesterday staged a peaceful protest  over  alleged anti-labour policies and insensitivity to staff welfare by the management.

  The protesting EEDC staff displayed placards with inscriptions, 'Emeka Offor give EEDC workers freedom', EEDC stop sacking workers arbitrarilly', EEDC why rejecting loans from transmission companies'  marched through Okpara avenue leading to the South East headquarter of the organization but were refused entry into the premises of the company by security operatives.

A detachment of police, DSS and army were also positioned to prevent the protesters from inflicting  any damage within the periphery of headquarter

 The Spokesman of the protesters, Comrade Cyril Ndubuisi, said  the management  has continued to sack workers of the company arbitrarily even when it had rejected loan from transmission companies to improve the fortunes of the establishment.

He stated, “Enough is enough. They do not want to dialogue with labour leaders because they know that what they are doing is wrong.    We have declared a 3-day  peaceful demonstration so that the world will know the pains we are passing through in the hands of EEDC management”.

“What they called privatization is scam. The last government used it as political patronage. They are not prepared to invest in the power sector. They just want to invest where they did not sow”

He explained that  the protest  is being  held in all the five states of the Southeast region  after the expiration of  14 day ultimatum and 7 days given to EEDC to make amends

'The EEDC could not follow the procedure issued to them by the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC. The NUEE in conjunction with NLC and Civil Societies group    organized this protest today to stop the abnormal behavior of the EEDC',he stated..

Efforts to reach the Public Relations Officer of the EEDC, Emeka Eze, were not fruitful as he was said to have go out of Enugu for an official assignment.

Meanwhile, the Human Resources Manager, Doctor Nwokolo, told the security operatives to make sure the angry staff did not gain entry into the EEDC premises during the protest.