The Maitama District office of the telecommunication giant, MTN was last week forced under lock and key over refusal of the management to approve workers’ union in the establishment.
The nation’s umbrella labour body, the Nigeria Labour Congress, embarked on a nationwide picketing of the company in the process. Only policemen and other security operatives were seen outside the gate. The union was protesting against non-unionisation of its workers.
The leadership of the union and other members had barricaded the head office of the company in Lagos for about eight hours, preventing workers from carrying out their daily duties.
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A security man, who pleaded anonymity, told the media that there was a directive from the MTN headquarters in Lagos that all staff of the organisation should not come to work until further notice.
“Maybe it is because of the protest by some people in our office in Lagos.
“We were told to come to office but all other staff of the organisation were asked to stay at home till further notice, ‘’ he said.
The NLC national President Comrade Ayuba Wabba, led the protest in Lagos.
[penci_blockquote style=”style-1″ align=”none” author=”Wabba “]There are a lot of anti-labour practices by the company, which include denying the workers freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining[/penci_blockquote]
MTN offices in many states suffered the same fate. The temporary shutdown of the offices cost the company huge revenue loss.
Similar protests took place in Port Harcourt, Yenagoa, Kano, Ibadan and other cities.