Workers of Nigeria Telecommunications Plc (NITEL) and its mobile subsidiary, M-TEL, called off their nine-day industrial action on Wednesday, April 20. They ended the strike in response to pleas from well-meaning Nigerians, to allow a proposed peace meeting by the Senate Committee on Communication to hold.

In agreeing to call off the strike, the workers raised a number of issues, which they want the Federal Government to provide answers to, including an explanation on the implication of government's 49 per cent equity in NITEL and how the operations of the embattled telecommunications firm are to be funded and restructured.

The workers also want to know the level of guarantee government would give in the event that Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) failed to implement the November 1, 2006 agreement on take over of the management of 51 percent equity in NITEL.

But acting president, National Union of Postal and Telecommunication Employees (NUPTE), Julius Abure, told Daily Independent on telephone that NITEL and M-TEL workers resume the suspended strike if the management of NITEL and the Federal Government refused to respond to the issues raised.

"These were part of the unanswered questions that made the workers embark on the strike," he said.

Abure, who argued that the workers proceeded on the strike following the inability of the federal government and NITEL management to meet their demands, said, "The non-payment of salaries and arrears, confirmation of appointments of workers, restoration of medical care, and funding of NITEL operations made the workers to take their destiny in their hands."

"We have endured enough. We are ready to work, but we do not even have money to enter buses to go to work. It is as bad as that. In the ultimatum, we demanded that our five months salary arrears be paid and that all employed workers since November 2006 be given confirmation while casual workers be given employment letters amongst others," he said.

The NUPTE president expressed surprise that Transcorp, which had generated a huge amount of money as revenue from NITEL's SAT-3 since it took possession of it in November 2006, could neither pay salaries of the staff nor confirm the appointment of the few workers redeployed to Transcorp in 2006

He lamented that NITEL, which had over 290,000 working lines before it was acquired by Transcorps, could not even boast of 40, 000 working lines today because of what he described as poor operational management.

To Comrade Joseph Ajayi, NUPTE's General Secretary, the root of NITEL workers' problem was the privatisation exercise that led to the sacking of over 9, 140 workers, leaving only3, 309 workers.

"At the initial stage of the privatisation saga, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) agreed to pay-off the disengaged workers with N23.74 billion as pension and gratuity was put at N22.97," he said.

According to Ajayi, when BPE was to pay the workers' entitlement for the months of July, August, and September, 2006, NITEL workers were asked to open accounts with UBA but they were not paid by BPE before it hurriedly transferred the ownership of the 49 percent equity of the communication giant to Transcorp on November 1, 2006

He said, "In December 2006, after much confrontation by the workers, BPE consultants went ahead to carry out a graduated terms formula of: 1-10 years to receive two years buy-out; 11-15 years to receive two and half years buy-out; 16-20 years to receive 3 years buy-out; 21-25 years to receive three and half years buy-out while 26-35 years and above to receive 4 years buy-out from the liquidated NITEL pension Board funds as against the five years buy out from the sales proceeds of the company earlier agreed."

The labour leader, who accused NITEL management of not following the earlier agreement reached with its workers said, "On Monday, May 8, 2007, M-TEL, the mobile subsidiary of NITEL, announced the sack of 108 workers to join the 300 workers earlier sacked, leaving only a staff strength of 633 workers in the company."

To Ajayi, the statement made by Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. John Odey, after a closed door meeting with Chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, Mr. Sylvester Anyanwu, and Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mrs. Irene Chigbue, and other stakeholders in Abuja, that the government would review the sale of NITEL was a pointer that the coast was now clear for the communication industry to regain it lost glory.

He said, "The statement made by Anyanwu that Transcorp had not substantially implemented most of the post -acquisition plans and agreements as contained in schedule three of the shares sales and purchase pact and therefore imperative to look into the memorandum and articles of association and details of contract agreement between BPE and Transcorp over NITEL and Mtel is heart touching.

"Transcorp's inability to build on the NITEL's vast infrastructure is unfortunate. If the organisation had the technical expertise of managing a gigantic technical outfit like NITEL, it would have harnessed the facilities."

The position of the House Committee on Communications on the strike by NITEL workers must be given serious concern if the operational failures of the communication giant are to be redressed.

The House committee had noted that the strike embarked upon by NITEL staff raised fundamental questions about the services of most GSM operators and their vital link with the facility.

Chairman of the committee, Jerry Manwe, in a chat with newsmen in Abuja said: "The issue of this industrial action has raised one fundamental question. We are made to believe that the industrial action has also affected the services of most GSM operators because of a vital link with Sat - 3 facilities."

The operators blamed their inefficient services on the industrial action embarked upon by the workers, as they could not link up with the Sat-3.

To Manwe and deputy chairman of the committee, Folake Olunloyo, following the GSM's operators' claim, the House would investigate "who are the GSM operators paying for the services of the Sat-3 facility. Is it the Ministry of Communication, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) or NITEL as claimed by the workers?"

He noted that the investigation into the activities of the Sat-3 would unveil many outstanding issues such as monies realised from its use by the GSM operators, which are hardly accounted for.

He said: "During the period the strike lasted, most of the GSM companies complained that it affected their services. And we discovered that they pay money for the services. So who is collecting the money? We cannot keep quiet while things are not done in the right way. If money is being realised, I don't think there should be any excuse for non-payment of salaries of the workers. They deserve their pay."

According to Manwe, "Though in resolving industrial disputes, there are always dissenting voices, this committee without prejudice, wishes to state that we respect the opinion of all individuals and so wishes to call on all concerned to close ranks and sink their differences in the overall interest of the nation we serve."

Senate Committee on Communication, buoyed by revelations that emanated from the strike, has concluded plans to probe the transactions leading to the sale of the NITEL to Pentascope and Transcorp.

Chairman of the committee, Sylvester Anyanwu, agreed that although several investigations had been carried out on the transactions, the Senate would take another look at them with a view to finding lasting solutions to the problems of the company.

He said the current problems of NITEL stemmed from the lack of transparency that attended its sale first to Pentascope and later to Transcorp.

He said, "When we came into office, we held a public hearing on the ownership of NITEL and the harm Pentascope did in NITEL. We are reopening it again and we are going to take the report in the Senate very soon.

"I want to say that Pentascope and Transcorp were products of the BPE. This is why we are calling for transparency. If they did hide and seek in all the dealings, they will certainly run into problems".

Anyawu continued, "A lot of issues in this country have been hide and seek. If it is open and you allow people to bid and the bidding is allowed to be transparent, then once a decision is made, you will be absolved from blames when problems begin to arise.

"But in these cases, preferential licences were given to Pentascope and Transcorp, and there are so many other preferential licences that have been given to other companies, and on these we have been receiving several petitions. And these are the issues we want to tackle in the days ahead."

He wondered why NITEL workers were being owed salaries even when it was discovered that the company was making money.

According to Anyanwu, the board of NITEL receives an average income of between N500m and N800m monthly from SAT 3 alone.

He pointed out that SAT 3 fibre optic cable was being used by all the networks for international gateway, in addition to other facilities of NITEL without nothing to show for it

He said, "Where is the money realised from the business transaction going to, and what are they doing with that money that they cannot pay staff salary. Whether it is NITEL board or Transcorp, these are is the questions we will be asking and we have set up investigation on this matter, we cannot continue to be running around circles all the time."

Anyanwu, however, said this goes to show that all the service providers that claimed to come with a roadmap on improvement of telecommunications in the country were not serious.

Workers, under the aegis of Senior Staff Association of Communication, Transport and Corporations (SSACTAC), believe Transcorp ought to build on the NITEL's vast infrastructure to turnaround the communication giant

Chubby Nwagbara, SSACTAC's General Secretary said, Transcorp has the financial muscle and technical expertise to run NITEL but wondered why the issues of salaries for workers, confirmation of employees' employment still persist in the company.

He pointed out that the several technical facilities, such as the Code Division Multiple Assets (CDMA), acquired by NITEL before its privatisation, were meant to expand the network of the company.

The labour leader however said the conciliatory meeting by the Federal Minis try of information and communications, Transcorp's management, management of NITEL, and the two in-house unions, (SSACTAC) and (NUPTE) by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Communication, Dr. Timiebi Koripamo-Agary , made the workers to suspend the strike.

The communiquÈ issued by workers' representatives, representatives of Transcorp as well as that of NITEL and Dr. Koripamo-Agary at the conciliatory meeting indicated that all parties agreed that the November 2007 salary for senior staff shall be paid by NITEL on or before April 30, 2008 while the April 2008 salary for junior staff shall be paid, by Transcorp on or before h April 30, 2008.

All interested parties also resolved that the April salary for the Senior Staff will be paid by Transcorp on or before May 15, 2008 while both senior and Junior Staff Salary for January and May 2008 shall be paid by Transcorp on or before the of May 30, 2008.

While it was agreed that the letter of confirmation of appointment of all NITEL staff be issued on or before of May 7, 2008, it was resolved that salaries for February and June 2008 shall be paid by Transcorp on or before the June 30, 2008.

There are indications that a fresh industrial action is looming in the nation's struggling national carrier, and its mobile subsidiary, M-TEL, three weeks after the end of over one-week of a strike by the staff of the company to demand the payment of their salary amongst other things.

Investigation by Daily Independent revealed that by the close of work on Friday, May 9, 2008, junior workers were not paid on April 30, 2008 as agreed by NITEL management

The workers are alleging that the management of the embattled NITLE\ M-TEL, the parent company, Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) Plc, has reneged on the agreement reached on April 21, 2008, that the salaries and allowances of the junior staff be paid on or before April 30, 2008.

The two in-house unions also alleged that the letter of confirmation of appointment of all NITEL staff be issued on or before of May 7, 2008 were not given to them and therefore planned to convened an emergency meeting this week to take strategic decisions.