Internet, Voice Outages Loom as Telecom Workers to Begin Nationwide Strike, List Demands

• Telecommunication workers have begun an indefinite nationwide strike to press home some of their demands
• The Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN) called for a strike
• Findings show that the association members have unresolved issues with about 39 telecom service companies

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

Under the aegis of the Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN), telecommunications workers have begun an indefinite nationwide strike, effective Monday, September 9, 2024.

Field Maintenance engineers, transmission engineers, customer service engineers, fibre engineers, and other vital staffers are among the employees embarking on the strike.

Strike may disrupt telecom services

If not quickly resolved, there are fears that the strike could disrupt telecom services such as data, voice, SMS, and the general internet.

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Findings show that the association members have unresolved issues with about 39 telecom service companies, including Specific Tools & Technology Limited's sacking of its members.

The 39 firms provide essential support services to the telecommunication operators in Nigeria.

Vanguard reports that the union gave a seven-day strike notice to the affected firms to address their demands, or they will embark on the strike.

Union member's list demands

The union’s demands include:

• Recognition of the employee's fundamental right to associate with the association freely.
• Recognition of the union as a negotiating body for employees on workers’ welfare.
• Immediate remittance of membership dues is in the union’s account.

Others include the recognition of the workers' years of service, the immediate commencement of appropriate pension deductions and remittance of them as required by the Pension Act, and the approval of the National Health Insurance Scheme covering employees, their spouses, and four dependents. 

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The union also demands the enrolment of Union members in Group Life Insurance as stipulated in the Pension Reform Act 2024, Section 9 (3), and other demands.

The union's general secretary, Abdullahi Onu, said the union had tried to engage the employers. Still, their legitimate demands have not been met, stating that the strike is the last resort to protect the welfare of its members.

This development comes as the deadline for Nigerians to link their SIMs to the National Identification Number (NIN) database approaches.

The NCC said any telephone lines not linked to the NIN database would barred from making or receiving calls and using the Internet.

NCC announces new deadline to link NIN to SIM

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had extended the deadline for linking the Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) with the National Identity Number (NIN) to September 14, 2024.

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NCC issued the directive on Wednesday, August 28, in a statement signed by Reuben Muoka, its Director, Public Affairs,

The communication regulatory agency directed all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to complete the mandatory verification and linkage of SIMs to NINs by that date.

Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng

Source: Legit.ng