Privatisation: Postal Employees Vow to Resist Sack of NIGCOMSAT Staff
Pensioners seek release of April payment
Damilola Oyedele Postal employees under the aegis of the National Union of Postal and Telecommunications Employees (NUPTE) have expressed readiness to resist an alleged plan to sack 150 workers due to the planned privatisation of the Nigeria Communication Satellite (NIGCOMSAT).
This is as the National Union of Pensioners (NUP) appealed to the federal government to urgently facilitate payment of their April pensions as many of them depend on the monthly stipend.
The President of NUPTE, Sunday Alhassan while speaking with journalists in Abuja at the weekend, disclosed that the union had already enlisted the backing of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to resist the planned sack, and privatisation of the organisation.
He added that a letter had already been sent to the Ministry of Communication Technology, informing the Minister of the union’s position.
Instead of putting it for sale, Alhassan urged the government to properly fund NIGCOMSAT and make it viable by compelling government agencies to subscribe to it for their satellite bandwidth needs.
He explained that the union is against privatisation because most government enterprises that have been privatised, and purchased by individuals, are not doing well.
“As at today, this administration has less than four weeks before it exits and the process of trying to privatise that organisation is in the front burner.
What is the ministry’s satellite bandwidth policy? Government agencies like the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Nigeria Television Authority among others that use satellite bandwidth do not subscribe to NIGCOMSAT but other foreign service providers, which come with huge cost compared to the cheap bandwidth provision by NIGCOMSAT,” he added.
Meanwhile, the NUP in a statement, called on the government to pay its April pensions before the end of this administration.
The pensioners lamented that while workers salaries for April have been paid, pensioners stipends for April are yet to be paid.