Non Payment of NITEL/MTEL Workers Salaries: Inhuman Treatment by This Government

By

Nwanaeto O.A.U.

febirac@yahoo.com

Is over one year now Nitel/Mtel workers have not been paid their salaries and allowances. This is inhuman, barbaric and an abuse of human right and should be condemned in its entirety.

It is about four months now that government revoked the sale of NITEL/MTEL from Transcorp, promising immediate payment of workers salaries and re-positioning the ailing company. It is surprising that as we speak nothing has been done in that direction. It took government 3 months to inaugurate the board to move NITEL and its subsidiaries forward. The board unfortunately was not given clear mandate on what to do, which has made it powerless and over shadowed by BPE. They have never agreed from day one with the BPE on the best way to move this company forward. BPE as the government arm in charge of privatization does not want anybody to detect to her what to do as they want NITEL to be sold as a scrap. Others members of the board have wanted government to reinvest in the place to enhance its value before the sale.

I am very surprise that government seem not to have a plan on what to do with the two companies before the revocation. This is very unfortunate especially with the level of decay of the two companies.

The workers are the victim of this entire policy somersault because they are yet to be paid their backlog of salaries and allowances for one year plus - this people have families and dependents that over this period have seen hell. A lot of them can not provide food to their families any longer. For 2 years now, they have been stop from accessing medical facilities from the company’s hospitals because Transcorp couldn’t pay the hospitals. Some have died as a result of these. Some have been vacated by their landlords for non payment of house rents and literally leaving under the bridge. I have a friend with a wife and five children who are almost insane as a result of this unfortunate government action. The children are all out of school now because he can’t pay school fees. The wife’s petty trading shop which is not enough to provide food on the table is regularly pull down by Abuja environmental authority who clamp down on illegal structures. It is really a sad story as the man is yet to get another job.

The President urgently needs to intervene in this matter and see that these workers are paid their salaries without further delay. It is not their fault that Transcorp underperformed. Recall, that they did stage several protest against Transcorp handling of the company but nobody listened. Every where in the world, government are instituted to protect their citizens and provide for them. This is why in the west government pay social security to the unemployed. The American government under Obama ensured that the Auto industry, AIG and other Industries did not fail because of the jobs the provided to the citizens instead they helped them to stabilize through congress supported stimulus package. Here government is allowing NITEL a cash cow with about 6,000 workers (after Transcorp sacked over 5000 workers) and providing very sensitive and essential services to die. It is very sad.

The minister of information and communication Prof Dora Akuyili cannot continue to talk about re-branding Nigeria when workers of Nitel/Mtel in her ministry have not been paid salary for 1 year plus. It is absurd.

The national Assembly should be attracted by the plight of this workers and take action because they are members of their constituency and a threat to their lively hood should be their concern.

My sincere position is that government should sale Nitel/Mitel to a telecommunication operator that has the financial and managerial ability to turn around Nitel. A lot of these operators abound and eager to play in the Nigerian telecom space.

Rumors in the press are that BPE and some Legislators want the company to be sold to GLO. I think this will not be to the interest of the sector and the Nigerian public. Glo is already the second national carrier. To allow them take over Nitel is to encourage monopoly which is the main reason government open the telecom space for competition.

The technical board and BPE should be given a clear mandate as follows:-

Time line in which Nitel/Mtel must be privatized – it should not be more than 31st Dec, 2009. Work out how staff should be paid their salaries immediately to cushion their suffering. Ensure that all NITEL assets wrongly sold or acquired by people are returned especially building and landed properties. Ensure safety of all assets wherever they are.

I strongly believe that if government does the right thing this company will bounce back in less time and skew the telecommunication competition in favor of the Nigerian people who has groan too long under the present operators. Nitel/Mtel workers should be paid their salaries without further delay.

4. Enitan street, Lagos, email:febirac@yahoo.com