We sacked only overaged, poorly educated staff – Jos DisCo

The Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED) PLC has said it sacked only such staff who were too old or too poorly educated to be productive.

The company denied that those sacked were up to athousand as was alleged in some quarters, but failed to give the exact number sacked.

The Head of Corporate and Communications Department, Mr. Elijah Friday, said some of the staffers were inherited by JED from the previous ownership and had reached over 60 years and the management felt that they were no longer productive.

“We also have staffers who had spent 35 years in service and management felt that it was not right to continue with them. Secondly, the management policy specifies that staff must either be degree or HND holder to enable them interface with our customers adequately because without education you cannot manage the customers looking at the previous cases of failed customer management relationship,” he said.

When asked to confirm the actual numbers of those sacked, he said the figures were not available with him.

He said the rationalization of staff was not a punishment because those going would be given their entitlements.

One of the affected staff told Daily Trust that JEDC had at first fired 900 staffers, and that as at Tuesday, additional 300 were scheduled for another sack.