Organized labour union under the aegis of Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has threatened to disrupt the activities of Huawei Technologies Nigeria over unfair labour practices.
The labour union on Thursday issued a 14-day ultimatum to the management of the company to address issues of poor welfare and the denial of workers’ right to join a labour union, among other issues.
The Leadership of PTECSSAN said failure of the company to meet their demands would lead to disruption of telecommunications services across the country.
Speaking at press conference in Lagos, the General Secretary, PTECSSAN, Comrade Abdullahi Okonu, alleged that the companies had resorted to intimidation and harassment of workers for attempting to organize themselves into a labour union.
He accused the management of issuing some workers warning letters to discourage them from exercising their rights to Freedom of Association, adding that the company threatened to sack them.
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According to him, members of the labour union working in the organisation are afraid to identify with the union as Huawei in the past sacked those who dare to organise the workers in Huawei.
Okonu said all our efforts in the past to address all the labour related issues confronting the workers in the company have been rebuffed by its management.
“Ultimate of which is gross disregard and denial of the workers their fundamental right to Freedom of Association as enshrined in Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria as well as Section 12(4) of the Trade Union Act LFN 2004 and ILO Conventions 87 and 98,” he said
The general secretary added, “We are reiterating that if our demands are fully and appropriately complied with by Huawei Technologies Nigeria Limited on or before March 12, 2021, we shall withdraw every guarantee of industrial peace within the company.
“Sadly, services may be disrupted across the nation throughout networks that Huawei is associated with from Midnight of Friday March 12, 2021.”
“Therefore, we are letting the management know that there will be consequences to industrial peace within the company if our demands are not met within 14 days from this day.
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It has become the hallmark of the company to make workers perform their duties under duress. They are intimidated, harassed and even threatened with sack at every slightest opportunity. The use of foul language on the workers is also prevalent in the organization.
Efforts to get the company to respond to the allegations proved abortive as calls to the Deputy Managing Director, Osita Iweze, were not picked.
The union, according to OKonu, is asking that the company respect the right for workers irrespective of the category they fall under to freely join the union.
He also called for the immediate withdrawal of warning letters and threats issued to the leaders of the workers trying to organise them into a union and immediate commencement of discussion and negotiation of Procedural Agreement and Collective Bargaining Agreement with the union of the workers.
He said regularisation of employment of all causal workers in the company should be done and abuse of expatriate quota policy should be stopped.
The union also asked for the immediate provision of Personal Protective Equipment for the field engineers.
