PHCN sales: Employees build capacity on terminal benefits

To ensure that potential beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s severance plan for electricity employees do not waste the expected huge pay-offs and fall into hardship, the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, has began capacity building for gainful business development for its members.

Senior General Secretary, Eastern Zone of the NUEE, Cyprian Akoh,who led a two-day workshop on finance and investment security for its members with training resource content from Icon Breeders in Port Harcourt, said the terminal benefits to those to be laid off or retired could spell doom for beneficiaries if not properly guided.

He said: “Some of us are afraid considering the fact that the business world is like a mighty ocean that gulps the capital of unprepared and ignorant businessmen. The stories of paid off civil servants is hardly impressive financially. We cannot choose to duplicate them.”

Resource person at the workshop, Olivers Mendoh noted that “uncertainties await workers with large pay-offs and retirement gratuities. Some years ago NITEL was privatised and its staff paid off. Records reveal that over 75% of the beneficiaries could not hold back their money for more than two years, plunging into dire poverty for lack of investment”.