- On Monday, September 9, 2024, the Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN) embarked on an indefinite strike action after a reported seven days of warnings.
- Telecom workers under PTECSSAN have expressed dissatisfaction with the continuous sacking and substandard employee working conditions across approximately 39 companies that provide support services to Nigerian telecom operators.
- The demonstration, including field maintenance engineers, fibre engineers, customer service engineers, and transmission engineers, comes after a subcontractor reportedly scaled three of its member employees.
The demands of the union members are:
- A suitable pension pay scheme for its members
- Health insurance for staff and their families
- Acknowledging the fundamental rights of the members of the union
- Recognising that the union is set on its members’ interests and, as such, speaks for them
- Operational vehicles and fair compensation due to the economic instability in the country
- Leaves and work allowances
Per the union, these demands reflect their dedicated efforts and years of work, and the General Secretary of PTECSSAN, Abdullahi Okonu, has stated that the strike will continue until their needs are met.
While PTECSSAN seeks public understanding, most people are concerned that this will disrupt the flow of telecom operations in the country. Data and call services may face severe backlash.
This is the union's second strike this year and the third time it has raised these concerns in three years.
In April 2024, the PTECSSAN announced an indefinite strike, which was a result of alleged mistreatment of the union workers by Huawei Technologies Nigeria Limited's project subcontractors, including Reime Group and Allstream Energy Solutions Ltd.
Although the strike was called off after Abdullahi stated that the union had reached an agreement with the subcontractors, it appears that the service operators did not comply with the negotiated terms.
Telecom operators in Nigeria are also struggling, with some considering a load-shedding strategy to manage their services due to economic challenges and mounting financial pressures.
