Lagos State Water Corporation Sacks 450 Workers
Anxiety has gripped employees of the Lagos State Water Corporation following the sudden dismissal of 450 casual workers by the state government last Thursday.
The affected staff members were reportedly served with termination letters on Tuesday and given an ultimatum to return all government property in their possession.
The unexpected decision left some of the staff, even those unaffected, shocked and apprehensive about their job security.Several workers, who spoke anonymously to our correspondent during a visit to one of the state waterworks on Thursday, expressed fear of facing a similar fate.A staff member, requesting anonymity, revealed that many of the laid-off workers had dedicated several years to their roles within the corporation. She said, “Nobody knew this was going to happen.
We were all shocked that a large number of people could be sacked in a day. Currently, these waterworks no longer have casual workers.”She continued, “One of my friends was affected by the decision. She has a family she is taking care of. She doesn’t even know where to start. She left the office weeping last week. Even if they are going to sack anyone, they should have given people more time to find alternatives.”Further investigation by PUNCH Metro revealed that the mass layoffs were attributed to the state government’s purported restructuring efforts despite the existing shortage of staff.”We don’t have enough staff.
As big as this place is, only one person is left to clean it. There were many of us at the maintenance units before. But now there are just the three of us left,” revealed an employee who preferred to remain anonymous.Another source questioned the need for extensive layoffs, stating, “They said they are restructuring, but how many staff will need to be sacked before this is accomplished?”In response to inquiries, the Public Relations Officer of Lagos State Water Corporation, Kehinde Fashola, confirmed that some workers were laid off due to a breach of the contract agreement.
Fashola stated, “The government found out that the Lagos Water management contract staff members have not been in accordance with the contract appointment law.”She explained, “Some of them have been contract staff for 10 years and some for five years, which is not in accordance with the country’s labour law. The normal time is two years. So, the government is trying to correct any abnormality without any bias.”Credit/ Punch News