INTERVIEW: MTN is not against unions, says Okigbo

Tobechukwu Okigbo, MTN’s corporate relations executive, speaks with TheCable via email on Friday’s demonstration at MTN’s office in Abuja by the Nigerian Labour Congress

How would you describe what took place in your Abuja office today?

There was a demonstration by the NLC at MTN’s regional office in Abuja. Following a meeting between MTN management and representatives of labour, it ended peacefully.

Is it true that some of your staff were attacked?

No, the protest was peaceful.

How many casual staff does MTN have in Nigeria?

MTN does not hire casual workers, we have fulltime employees, consultants and contract staff – who are employed by third party agencies. In any event this was not raised as an issue by the NLC.

Why is MTN against unions?

We are not against unions. We will however not force our employees to unionise. In fact, there is an Employee Council, comprising democratically elected staff representatives who meet often to discuss critical issues affecting employees, and take steps to resolve them with management.

What other issues were discussed?

We discussed our robust pension scheme, which exceeds legal and statutory requirements; and the voluntary severance scheme that was run earlier in the year. We concluded amicably, with an agreement to continue engaging with them on all salient issues.