The casual workers of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), across the country, have cried out to the Federal Government and other relevant authorities on their plight.

In the same vein, some former workers of Union Bank Nigeria Ltd. under the aegis of 'Out Source Workers,' have criticised the management of the bank for alleged shabby treatment metted out to them after a service of over five years.

Speaking with reporters in Ilorin at the weekend, some members of the PHCN group, led by Abdulrashid Mohammed, complained that most of them had spent between two to 12 years working in the company without confirmation of their appointment.

The PHCN workers, who said the management of the company usually complained of shortage of employees in their category, alleged that the management discontinued with issuance of confirmation letters after issuing the letter to only few of their colleagues.

They said their problem had persisted for such a long time because they were not part of electricity workers' union affiliated to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)

The workers, mainly youth graduates of various Nigerian tertiary institutions, appealed to relevant authorities not to allow their labour go in vain, adding that they serve in computer, account, marketing among other operational departments of the company.

"We are the ones that compute accounts on paid PHCN bills, read meters, distribute bills, carry ladders for repairs, type and print bills and we even trained many of those that were given confirmation letters," he said.

Mohammed said most of his colleagues earn between N5,000 and 12,000 as monthly salary, adding that most of them could not cater for their dependants and those who are of marriage age could not afford to venture into marriage due to economic implications.

The people, who also said that they decided to pursue path of peace to address their grievances in the interest of the nation, added that they are the ones being used to facilitate revenue generation for the company.

They also claimed to have undergone biometric screening/verification exercise, ordered by the Presidential Committee on PHCN Reconciliation in the wake of privatisation of the company, adding that the confirmation letter would enable them get severance pay.

According to the Union Bank ex workers some of who spoke with The Guardian in Ilorin, "we were denied placement as staff for over five years despite meritorious services to the bank.

"The next thing we got was an SMS telling us of our sack with a promise of payment of N75,000. This is unfair as many of us are married with responsibilities."