Telecommunications industry workers in Nigeria, under the aegis of the Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN) Monday commenced an indefinite nationwide strike over sack, and poor working conditions among others.
Among the employees going on strike include field maintenance engineers, transmission engineers, customer service engineers, fibre engineers, and other critical staff.
There are fears that the strike could disrupt telecommunications services nationwide if not resolved quickly.
PTECSSAN had given notice of the strike in a statement signed by Mr. Okonu Abdullahi, its general secretary.
Abdullahi said the strike had become necessary following alleged anti-labour practices including the refusal of the employers to recognise and respect the workers’ constitutional rights to freely associate with the union.
He alleged also that three members of the union were unjustly sacked.
Said he: “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 right of the employees to freely associate with the union”.
The general secretary, said other demands included 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 among others.
Stated Abdullahi: “We hope that these companies will utilise the seven-day window of this notice to meet our demands and avert the indefinite strike action”.