Workers in the telecommunications industry under aegis of the Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN) have threatened to embark on a two-week industrial action over the alleged anti-labour practices by the management of MTN Nigeria.
The union, which is an affiliate of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), issued the warning in a statement on Tuesday.
The workers in a statement on Tuesday threatened to disrupt the services of the telecommunications giant nationwide after several attempts to resolve the issues failed.
“MTN practices an unwholesome, insensitive, and discriminatory structure in the emoluments of some categories of workers. “Workers on the same job level earn disproportionately. In many cases, members of a team earn more than their team leads and even more than their direct managers,” PTECSSAN said.
According to union, the workers grouse centres on the remuneration of workers, exit packages for long-term staff, employee relations practices, and alleged abuse of expatriate quota, amongst others.
MTN, it explained, is of disregarding its employees in the country, which it said was contrary to the core values preached by the organisation.
The statement reads in part, “Non-payment of severance benefits at the point of departure of employees after long years of dedicated and uninterrupted services to the company has become a deep frustrating practice to the live long guarantees for workers in MTN.
“The company claims it has not been paying exiting employees severance benefits, hence, it cannot be a matter for negotiation with the union despite the fact that social dialogue demands that all matters without exception concerning workers in the workplace are subject to negotiation.
“The rate at which companies in the telecommunications sector import excessive manpower to the country to do jobs Nigerians are not lacking in competence is alarming. It is becoming pervasive in MTN Nigeria as well.
“We have several expatriates in the company who do exactly what Nigerians do. Most of these expatriates are trained by Nigerians and we still wonder how the permits for these individuals were approved.”
“Once again, we reinstate that if our demands are not fully and appropriately complied with by MTN Nigeria Telecommunications Limited on or before the next 14 days from today, we shall withdraw every guarantee of industrial peace within MTN Nigeria. Services may be disrupted across the nation throughout the network from the midnight of the 24th day of August 2020.”
MTN however dismissed the allegations made bythe workers as untrue. The Chief Corporate Services Officer of the telephony firm, Tobechukwu Okigbo, said that MTN has built a ‘people first’ culture that empowers its employees, values inclusivity and hard work, and instills a responsibility for its customers and communities.
“This is what defines and unites us. MTN cares greatly about all its workers, deploying global best practice people solutions and policies that make MTN Nigeria a great place to work.
“We intentionally invest in our people. Indeed, MTN’s success in Nigeria is as a result of the hard work, commitment, and dedication of all staff, guided by a strong culture of people management.”
Okigbo in a statement made available to media said, “Our people/workforce are our most critical competitive advantage and a key differentiator in the marketplace so we take staff welfare, remuneration, and career development seriously.
“We have stringent policies in place that promote meritocracy and protect our employees from all forms of harassment and discrimination and creates a workplace where employees feel valued and safe.”
