Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER) has called for the arrest and prosecution of electricity union workers over ‘acts of terrorism’ in Nigeria.
The civil society organisation (CSO) made the call following the recent electricity workers’ strike, which worsened Nigeria’s electricity problems.
The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), in a notice signed by its General Secretary, Joe Ajaero, urged its members to stop work from 17 August.
It is understood that the union went on strike due to a Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) directive for some classes of employees to appear for interviews for promotion, and the failure of the authorities to pay the entitlement of former staff of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in December 2019.
Another grievance of the workers is the perceived ‘stigmatisation of staff from the office of the Head of Service of the federation from working in other areas in the power sector’.
The strike was suspended after the Minister of Power, Abubakar Yusuf, promised that issues raised by the workers would be addressed in two weeks.
Reacting to the strike, the CSO asked the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to arrest and prosecute the workers.
The Executive Director of CASER, Frank Tietie, noted that CASER has, since 2014, been calling for proper legal action against trade unions in Nigeria that embark on illegal strike actions, especially in the essential services sectors of health and education.
According to him, it is criminal, by the provisions of Section 31 (6) of the Trade Unions Act for workers in the essential services sector to embark on strike actions.
‘Thus, irrespective of the propriety or genuineness of the demands of any Nigerian workers union, they are barred by Nigerian law from embarking on strike actions if they are engaged in the provision of essential services’, he said.
He added, ‘What the electricity workers who went on strike have failed to realise is that their strike action on the 17th of August, 2022, amounted to an act of terrorism against the Nigerian state and that they are therefore liable to be punished with life imprisonment on conviction according to the combined provisions of Section One of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act (as amended)’.
Tietie further noted that the National Assembly of Nigeria, in 2005, outlawed strikes in the essential services sector, connecting it with the fragility of the Nigerian society and other related problems fundamental to the well-being of the people.
In an interview with Arise television on 18 August, Ajaero said the strike was a last resort.
Photo source: Seeing Through
