The leadership of PTECSSAN has blamed ongoing face-off with ZTE Nigeria on alleged anti-labour practices on the part of the company.
In a letter sent to the Editor of www.citybusinessnews.com on Tuesday, PTECSSAN said: “For ZTE Management to rush to press to claim that PTECSSAN was fighting NUPTE over check-off is appalling to say the least. No amount of lies told will deter us from continuing to defend our members from different forms of anti-labour practices from the ZTE Management or any other management for that matter”.
The letter, issued by Okonu Abdullahi (Gs) explained that ZTE NIgeria staff had expressed “their willingness to Join PTECSSAN individually in writing”.
Part of the letter read: “This is in exercising of their right as guaranteed by Section 12 (4) of Trade Unions Act, 2005 as amended: “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, membership of a Trade Union by employees shall be voluntary and no employee shall be forced to join or remain a member”.
“The decision of the workers to associate and take up membership of PTECSSAN for their protection never went down well with the management as they had been comfortable with a Union that protected their interests better than the workers.
“In exercising their right, they ensured not only writing to NUPTE but their management, ZTE, was copied. The opt-in document to PTECSSAN was also sent to the management with PTECSSAN in copy, which we received.
“Thereafter, we wrote to the management formally informing her of the need to meet with her, introduce ourselves as a body and inaugurate PTECSSAN ZTE Branch.
“Surprisingly, ZTE management decided to dabble into an affair that never concerned her by intimidating our members to choose among options she provided in a mail to them:
Quoting from ZTE HR mail
“Option 1. Remaining with NUPTE
Option 2. Exit NUPTE and join PTECSSAN
Option 3. Not interested in joining any Labor Union
Option 4. Others (pls identify)”
Also inciting the workers with, (line from her below).
“Pls note that you shall reply the mail before COB today. Anyone who did not reply mail will be treated as not interested in joining any labor union, your Labor union fee will therefore not be deducted from your Salary anymore”.
“Left with no other option the management agreed to a meeting with us which took place at the company’s premises.
“Regrettably, despite agreeing to discuss with the Union, PTECSSAN, on the issue of redundancy she was to embark on which the workers had hinted us about, the management went ahead on its implementation without recourse to us as against Section 20 of the Labour Act.
“Some were made to sign under duress, using various threat. Getting wind of this we wrote to ZTE Management, urging her to reverse all she had done and call for a meeting with us to discuss the issue. Ignoring our letter, the management continued coercing the workers to sign employment termination documents it had prepared.
“As a responsible trade union, we could not fold our arms with this injustice done to our members, thence, the industrial action that took place on 8th March, 2017 with the massive support of our viable labour centre, the United Labour Congress of Nigeria, (ULC)
