News

On Tuesday Workers of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited started on a nationwide strike because the majority stake holders in the company, Transnational Corporation, failed to faithfully implement the agreement reached with the workers about two weeks ago.

The night before the workers had shut the Nigerian landing points of the undersea cable (SAT-3) which connects Nigeria with the rest of the world. This has paralysed telecommunications activities in the presidential villa, State Security Service office, aviation sector and over 10 private telecoms operators.

Before that, negotiation with the management of Transcorp mediated by the Ministry of Information and Communications took place. An agreement was reached stating a month’s salary was to be paid on Monday, while another month’s salary would be paid by the end of April. When the company failed doing that, aggrieved workers started a strike action.



Sriking workers, supported by the National Union of Postal and Telecommunications Employees (NUPTE), are planning to continue their industrial action until the management of the company pays them their five months salary arrears and other allowances.

NUPTE Acting President Julius Abure told that NITEL and MTEL workers across the country decided to take their destiny into their hand after the management of NITEL refused to even respond to the ultimatums both the junior workers' body and that of the senior staff association issued to it which expired last week.

NITEL is the principal telecommunications company in Nigeria which was owned by the government of Nigeria until it was sold to a corporate conglomerate Transcorp.