MTN (Nigeria) has expressed its desire to have the lingering industrial crisis with the organized labour over complaints by members of its staff amicably resolved.
The telecom operator’s Public Relations Manager, Corporate Affairs/Corporate Relations, Mr. Funso Aina, gave this indication in a statement issued on Friday in Lagos.
Noting that the events of the week have been difficult and disruptive to the compsny’s operations, Aina however, stated that the hiccups had not in any way impacted on the telco’s continued commitment to the customers.
He explained: “All of us at MTN want to express our sincere gratitude to you for standing by us during this challenging time. Over the years, we have engaged productively with representatives of labour unions who reached out, holding numerous extensive meetings.
“We will continue to do so, pursuing amicable resolutions in our negotiations with organised labour and the safety and welfare of our employees will remain our primary concern during these discussions”, Aina stated.
This is even as he noted that the organisation understood its responsibilities to customers, workers and the society and therefore the rights of its employees remained paramount to the management to protect at all times.
The spokesman clarified further: “This includes the fundamental human right to freedom of association as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.
“Our ethos is not to coerce our employees to do anything against their will. We have no objections to our employees forming a collective, through a union, or choosing not to do so.
“In fact, MTN has an Employee Council made up of officers below Management cadre. Council members are democratically-elected representatives who ensure that labour-related issues are addressed. We do not engage in casualness. All our employees have full-time employment contracts.
“To enable our organisation to focus on delivering our core services and in alignment with global best practice, we engage licensed, specialised service providers to support our operations. We provide working conditions in line with international best practice. All employees earn well above minimum wage, he assured.
Aina listed some of the benefits being enjoyed by employees as including, a minimum of 20 paid leave days annually, flexible working hours, four months paid maternity leave and fully funded pensions.
In addition, he stated that they also have mortgage subsidies and group medical cover with international emergency evacuation for employees and their immediate dependents, amongst other benefits.
As discussions are ongoing to end the dispute, Aina called for cessation of attacks on MTN’s employees or damage to the network and property, adding that the management also expects its employees’ rights to associate freely and without coercion to be respected.
Meanwhile, some industry stakeholders, including Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Association of Telecommunications Company of Nigeria and Nigeria Communications Commission are already holding parleys with the organized labour leaders to end the week-long industrial action.
