If the ill treatment of the Nigerian workers by foreign companies operating the country will stop, then the Federal Government must rise to the challenge checking the activities of such companies without unduly affecting the investment of the companies.President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu made the remark in an interview with the Nigerian Compass in Lagos.Omo-Ettu was reacting to questions on the recent sack of 3000 workers of Airtel, one of the nation's thriving telecoms operators.According to him while it would not be out-of-place for the operator to manage its resources efficiently, the government own its citizen the duty protect their labour rights.He said that it is not the responsibility of an investor that is coming to the country to seek for the right of its stressing that it is the duty of the government to just to look at the service the investor is offering but how its model of business will affect the labour force.He explained that 'If you are using IT to run business you do not need a large number of workers. If somebody said he's bringing billions of dollars into your country but will employ a few people, will it be good for a nation that is having unemployment problem''That according to him is the reason why the government needs negotiate the terms with the investor saying that there are some terms that may prompt the government to say that the country does not want the investment.Although, he refused to align his position with the Airtel crisis, he said that it is a challenge for the government because business is based on initiative that is tailored towards making profit noting that when business decisions are taken by an investor, 'someone maybe affected positively or negatively. So you have to look at both sides of the coin'.He said his worry is that government had not at anytime done any negotiations with investors, 'so as an analyst, my own is to do the analysis and leave the decision to the government'.Omo-Ettu said that it was wrong for people to blame the operator, Airtel for being unfair saying that they came into the country with an investment and they want to make return on their investment.'It came with its own style of investment. Now nobody cares. So whether you call it India model, it does not matter. The truth is that once you are using IT to do business, you can stay in Nigeria and monitor what is going on in China', he said.He explained that there are some IT solutions that were brought into India, and the government rejected it because it is not good for his people saying if something is not good for the people then it is not good for society.The ATCON boss refused to limit his remark on the issue to Airtel said that 'I don't just want to complain about the case of Airtel. You are hearing of the case of Airtel today, tomorrow it will be another company'.It would recalled that Airtel, was reported to have sacked 3000 of its workers but recalled them after an agreement was reached at a meeting conveyed by the Minister of Labour and Productivity between Airtel and the organised labour in Abuja.But Airtel's Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Emeka Oparah said that it was agreed that the sacked staff be reinstated pending the resolution of a meeting currently going on between the company and stakeholders in the country.Oparah denied that Airtel sacked 3,000 workers, explaining that only 1,500 Nigerians were employed by Tech Mahindra, an outfit responsible for managing the company's call centers in Nigeria.Airtel Human Resource Manager Jubril Saba said the affected workers were supplied by Spanco Channel BPO Limited to Tech Mahindra on contract basis, adding that their contract had an expiration period.'We did not sack anybody, not even one person. The agents who were reportedly dismissed were not Airtel's employees', he said.He said the company wanted to employ direct labour and in doing so, 'the labour and the civil society coalition would be in the picture'.At hearing, in the House, Speaker of the House Adeyemi Ikufroiji, said, 'You have done well and even if you have not solved the problem, you have given us hope that it will be solved. Let your intention remain the way you have presented it to the House today,' he urged.
Click here to read full news..
