Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, has disclosed that workers transferred from the unbundled Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to the various 18 successor companies would be allowed to negotiate new contract terms with the eventual investors of the companies.
Nnaji, stated this yesterday in Abuja when he received a United States trade delegation led by the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Mr. William Fitzgerald.
He said the successful investors and concessionaires in the privatisation exercise would?? not be coerced into accepting the workforce, but said that the workers would have new contracts with the new operators.
He assured workers in the power sector that there was no plan to sack any of them in the privatisation plan, but said the plan was to transform them from government workers to private sector participants for better efficiency in the power sector.
The minister? maintained that government was desirous of revitalising the competence of workers in the power sector, hence, the need to? move them to the various successor companies in line with their expertise.???
“We are doing a lot of work to get the workers to understand that it is not about sacking them from the workforce, but we want to transform the workforce from public sector workforce to private sector workforce,” the minister said.
He explained that for that to happen, the workers have to be exited from government payroll to private sector payroll with severance given to them for them to have new contract with the new investors.
He further told? the Americans that some steps so far taken by government to improve investment in the sector include the creation of bulk power purchaser, stabilisation of the national grid, reactivation of the rural electrification agency to aid the distribution companies in reaching the rural areas and the introduction of cost reflective tariff for power generation companies.
The delegation which comprised of notable US power companies like Symbion LLC, General Electric Company, AES, and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC amongst others, said it would consider investment in off-grid and on-grid power generation, distribution networks and other infrastructural project in Nigeria.