The Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has announced a strike without a set end date starting from midnight on Thursday, April 4, 2024.
The union stated that they had to make this decision because subcontractors have been consistently treating field engineers unfairly with their anti-labour practices.
The telecoms union shared this information in a statement sent to The PUNCH on Tuesday.
According to PTECSSAN, the subcontractors, including Reime Group, All Streamenergy Solutions Limited, Uppercrest Limited, Tyllium Nigeria Limited, and Specific Tools and Techniques Limited, have been involved in projects awarded by Huawei Technologies Nigeria Limited.
The union listed the grievances against these subcontractors, which include terrible working conditions similar to modern-day slavery, inadequate entitlements for the amount of work done, and lack of sufficient security measures, especially during late-night field assignments.
The union expressed, “These workers are being treated like slaves in their own country with no proper entitlements for the work they do.
“They are made to work without fixed work hours and are put in danger by going to the field late at night without adequate security provided for them.”
The union’s demands consist of immediate acknowledgment of employees’ basic rights to association, recognition of the union as the negotiating body for workers’ welfare, and accurate payment of membership dues.
Furthermore, PTECSSAN called for the regularization of employment for union members working on Huawei projects, adherence to pension and health insurance regulations, and the initiation of negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement.
Furthermore, the union revealed that despite efforts by the Ministry of Labour and Employment to address the concerns through conciliatory meetings, the companies have failed to engage constructively, leaving no option but to resort to industrial action.
“All attempts by the union and the Ministry of Labour and Employment to resolve the union’s and its members’ concerns proved unsuccessful as the companies failed to make themselves available for conciliatory meetings.
“Due to this, the union’s leadership directed its members to start an indefinite strike action starting from April 4, 2024.
“We ask Nigerians to bear with us during the strike and any inconvenience it may cause,” the union noted.
