Former employees of Kaduna Electric protested on Monday to demand the payment of their alleged 88 months of outstanding pension arrears and entitlements.
The demonstrators, displaying placards about their children being pulled out of school and the company violating its terms of service, claimed the management was acting unjustly. Spokesperson Christiana Emmanuel Ambi alleged that the company used its condition of service to terminate their employment but refused to follow the same policy when calculating their severance pay.
Ambi stated that while the condition of service guarantees staff with nine or more years of service 35% of their full annual emoluments, Kaduna Electric is only willing to pay 20%, contradicting their signed agreement.
She reported that despite numerous meetings with management, the DSS, and the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, no concrete action has been taken. Ambi lamented that the extended non-payment has caused severe hardship, including children dropping out of school and lack of medical support for former workers.
The protesters questioned why the company is recruiting new staff while simultaneously claiming it lacks the finances to pay disengaged ones. They called for urgent intervention from the Minister of Power and the CEO of Kaduna Electric, vowing to continue their demonstrations until all outstanding payments are settled and accounted for. Attempts to reach Kaduna Electric management for comment were unsuccessful.
Eighty-eight months is nearly seven and a half years of outstanding pay—that’s a lot of patience they’re out of.
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