Thursday morning workers of the Ogun State Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) started an indefinite strike and total black out in Ogun.

The workers claim that the strike is based on non-implimentation of the new minimum wage, non-remittance of pension and cooperative deductions, claimed disengagement of 17 staff members among other staff welfare issues.

Among others, Newsword noted that the IBEDC office along Abiola road, Abeokuta, was under lock and key, just as workers were seen with placards bearing inscriptions as ” Pay our PFA, cooperative deductions now.” “Implement the new minimum Wage.”

Speaking, Lagos-Ogun Zone’s Vice President of National Union of Electricity Employees, Engineer Abiodun Shobayo stated, “Enough is enough and they must listen to our voice. Demonstrating their grievances is how they express their concerns.”

Given the IBEDC management’s refusal to address their issues for the past nine months, he observed that the employees were left with only option to start an indefinite strike.

Starting our action this morning, Shobayo declared, “We are staying put and advocating for our rights. We have been duped and want to be regarded as human beings.

“We are here this morning to say enough is enough, that the IBEDEC management cannot continue to take us for a ride for issues we have been talking to them for about nine months.

“For instance, our pensions and cooperative deductions running to billions of naira are not remitted; we are not granted imprest; people have been running the company using their personal money to clear power faults, go about to distribute energy bills.

“The management is not ready to implement the new minimum wage, ever since it was signed it has not been implemented, they have not even sat down to even talk to us on the minimum wage.They have also started firing people indiscriminately without respect to the conditions of service.

“We have said this cannot stay; about 17 of our members are already affected; we have tried to be patient with them but it seems they have a hidden goal. Just recently, 900 staff of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company were terminated, we don’t want such here.

“70% of people working here are casuals and we have said this is not right. Anyway, the strike is indefinite until the management is willing to see reason with us. The strike action cuts across where we have IBEDEC franchise and these are the six states of the South-West, Kwara and Kogi”.

“We demand that all monies owed us should be paid, the sacked workers must be reinstated and then we can be talking about calling the strike off”, he added.

When approached, the Ogun Public Relations officer of IBEDC, Deji Bada, rejected comment.