The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has opposed the decision of Intels Services Nigeria Limited, a firm partly owned by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President to discharge about 600 workers.
The union urged the management of Intels to withdraw the sack letters issued to 600 staff members working in Rivers and Warri operational areas, and reinstate them back to their positions immediately.
MWUN also revealed that the company had recently retrenched 30 workers in Onne Port.
Comrade Felix Akingboye, the Secretary-General of MWUN, issued a letter to the management of Intels Nigeria Ltd in Onne Port , through Mr. M. Ndon, the Regional Human Resources Manager, described the decision to sack the workers as ‘unlawful.’
The letter reads: ‘Recently, your management declared about 30 of its employees redundant and the union was duly consulted, and a joint communiqué between management and the union was issued after due negotiation.’
‘Over the years the welfare benefits of your employees (Intels Nig. Ltd.) and that of your subsidiary Company, AMS, has always been the product of joint negotiation between your management and the union. In other words, the employees of the principal (Intels Nigeria Ltd) and its subsidiary AMS enjoy the same welfare benefits.’
‘Regrettably however, we are informed that your management has terminated its contract with AMS which has led to over 600 workers (who are our members) being declared redundant without due recourse to the union for the negotiation of their terminal benefits.’
He added that, ‘Letters of termination/redundancy, we are informed, had already been served on the workers. This unfair labour practice is not acceptable to us.’
‘I have been directed to issue your management with a seven day notice effective from the date of this ultimatum, within which to withdrawal all the letters of termination/redundancy served on the workers and recall them to duty, otherwise, we shall be compelled to withdraw our services from your terminal at the expiration of the notice.’
‘We demand that status quo ante should remain pending when a management/union meeting is convened to negotiate their exit and payment of terminal benefits.’
The union gave Intels Services Nigeria Limited , a seven-day ultimatum to withdraw the sack letters and recall the affected workers or risk a total shut down of its operations nationwide.
Adenike Omosanya
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