The Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PTECSSAN) has commenced a 3-day warning strike due to what it described as disregard for the norms and practice of industrial relations by Huawei Technologies Company Limited.

PTECSSAN disclosed this in a letter signed by the General Secretary of the union, Comrade Abdullahi Okonu, stressing that the strike has become inevitable due to the management’s continuous engagement in anti-union activities and total disregard to the norms and practice of industrial relations practices in Nigeria.

According to him, “Following several failed attempts by the Union to get your Company to address industrial concerns of her members working on your projects we are by this correspondence informing you that the Leadership of the Union has directed the withdrawal of services of her members from your projects effective midnight 2nd May – 11:59 pm 4th May 2023.”

“We are constrained to embark on this industrial action when it became apparent to us that your Company is not labour friendly and is not interested in peaceful and amicable resolutions of the concerns of our members.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we shall not be backing down on the warning strike except the following are agreed with the union, Immediate recognition of the fundamental right of the employees to freely associate with the Union.

“Immediate recognition of the Union as negotiating body for the employees on workers welfare, immediate remittance of membership dues into the Union’s account as earlier provided, immediate payment of March salaries of some members of the Union.

Immediate regularization of the employment of Union members on the Huawei Projects and the involvement of the Union in the process.

Immediate commencement of appropriate pension deduction and remittance of same as required by the Pension Act, Immediate approval of the National Health Insurance Scheme that covers the employees, their spouses and four of their dependents.
Immediate enrollment of Union members in the Group Life Insurance as stipulated in the Pension Reform Act 2004, Section 9(3); Immediate commencement of negotiation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (Conditions of Service) for the benefit of Union members.”

The union lamented the failure of the company to comply with their demands after the expiration of the 3-day warning strike, “we shall further direct our members to embark on an indefinite strike.”

Daily Times reached out to Osita Iweze, the Deputy managing director of Huawei for comments on the proposed strike; no response was received as at press time.

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PTECSSAN