By Bimbola Oyesola   

Workers in the postal and telecommunication sector have maintained that only the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) has the right to collect stamp duty, and not the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

Already, the National Union of Postal and Telecommunication Employees (NUPTE) said it has reported the infraction to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), as it is impacting negatively on the workers of NIPOST, who are members of the union.

The president of NUPTE, Nehemiah Buba, in an interview, said the Federal Inland Revenue Service collecting stamp duty was trespassing on the core duties of NIPOST.

He said: “It is a clear issue. It’s just like someone trespassing. But I think FIRS is getting an upper hand on this issue because they are connected to the big boys in the country . 

“But, sincerely, it is the duty of the NIPOST. And taking it away from NIPOST has a negative effect on them, most especially on the  welfare of their staff because it is affecting their financial status. We have also asked the NLC to come in and settle the rift,” he said.

Buba lamented the barrage of problems facing the union, especially in the area of organising.

According to him, the main challenges of the union is employers’ resistance to workers joining the association and the right to organise.

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He said, as a resul , many workers in the sector face unfair labour practices that include intimidation, harassment, poor remuneration, abuse of expatriate quota policy and increasing spate of precarious work, among others.

Buba noted that, on many occasions, the union had taken steps to address all the labour-related issues confronting the workers in the sector, but it has been rebuffed by the companies involved, noting that the problem was more prevalent in the private sector.

His words: “The major challenge we have in our sector is the issue of organising. As you know, our jurisdiction covers both the public and the private sector. For instance, in NIPOST, Level 7 and 8 are ceded to the senior staff association, which is not supposed to be.

“In the private sector, employers have come up with resistance on unionism. They don’t want their staff involved in the union. They don’t want workers to have interface with the union.”

He explained that telecoms company, MTN, has stopped their members from unionising under the pretence of having an internal union, which is not affiliated with the Trade Union Congress or the NLC.

“And for this reason, most of the workers in these companies are treated anyhow by their managements. They have created fears in the mind of their workers. We have approached some of these companies. We have also reported them to Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), the employers’ body and even the Ministry of Labour and Productivity,” he said.

He, however, stated that the union would have been able to achieve more in organising but for the internal crisis that affected the union few years back.

“It’s like starting from scratch, but we are ready now to take the bull by the horns and we are going to ensure that we sanitize the sector and put an end to all anti-worker activities,” he said.