Workers in Nigeria’s telecommunication sector are threatening to add to the series of industrial strikes and attendant disruptions the nation has witnessed in the past year.
The workers under the aegis of Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association (PTECSSAN) have issued a seven-day indefinite strike notice which comes into effect on Monday September 9.
The notice was issues to 39 companies including Huawei Technologies Nigeria Limited over what workers describe as prevalent precarious working conditions.
The notice of the strike was contained in a letter signed by Mr Okonu Abdullahi, PTECSSAN’s general secretary.
Other companies, it is sued notice to, are Tylium Nigeria Ltd; Specific Tool and Techniques and Safari Group Ltd. among others.
Abdullahi said intent to go on strike was prompted by alleged anti-labour practices, including the refusal of the employers to recognise and respect the workers’ constitutional rights to freely associate with the union.
Abdullahi also claimed that three members of the union were unjustly sacked. He said: “We shall not be suspending the planned indefinite strike action until our demands, which are as follows, are met:
“Immediate reinstatement of the three unjustly sacked workers: Sotola Sunday Kolawole, Ulu Ikechukwu Christopher and Alex Franklin C.
“Immediate recognition of the fundamental rights of the employees to freely associate with the union. “
He said other demands included the immediate recognition of the union as the negotiating body for the employees on workers welfare.
He said also that the union was demanding the immediate remittance of membership dues into its account as earlier provided.
“We hope that these companies will utilise the seven-day window of this notice to meet our demands and avert the indefinite strike action,” he added.
