The Private Telecommunication and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has withdrawn the 14-day ultimatum it issued to the MTN Nigeria Plc over a dispute.

The union also agreed to shelve its proposed strike following a conciliation meeting called by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Speaking at the parley, the minister called for industrial harmony and understanding between MTN Nigeria Plc and its employees.

He said that the need for harmony in the telecom industry had become imperative as the COVID-19 pandemic had led to greater reliance on telecommunication, with virtual activities replacing physical ones.

Ngige said, “We are doing social distancing; we are doing so many things that require us not to meet so much physically, as part of the COVID-19 protocols.

“This is a time for digital technology; a time to ensure that our telecommunication industry, as part of our overall communication, is not destabilized.”

According to a statement on Wednesday by the Ministry of Labour and Employment spokesman, Mr Charles Akpan, Ngige observed that the relationship between the employer organisation and the employees remained a symbiotic one.

Both parties need each other and none can exist without the other, Ngige was quoted to have said.

The statement was titled ‘FG calls for industrial harmony between MTN and employees as PTECSSAN withdraws 14-day ultimatum.’

The MTN management had filed a trade dispute against PTECSSAN, accusing the union of threatening industrial action without recourse to the dispute resolution procedures as provided under the law.

According to the Chief Resources Officer of MTN Nigeria, Esther Akinnukawe, the leadership of PTECSSAN had by a letter dated August 11, 2020 threatened to commence industrial action and disrupt MTN’s network if within 14 days from the date of its letter effective midnight of August 24, MTN failed to meet the association’s demands.

But the PTECSSAN President, Opeyemi Tomori, explained that the MTN management had repeatedly stonewalled them, leading to a breakdown in communication between the parties.

At the end of the meeting, the parties reached resolutions on the issues tabled for conciliation, and the trade dispute was resolved with PTECSSAN withdrawing the 14-day ultimatum it issued to the management of MTN.

The statement read, “On the issue of Voluntary and Involuntary Severance Scheme, the parties resolved that involuntary exit from the service of the company should result from redundancy and any other situation arising from unnatural causes that gives a force majeure on the activities of the organization.”

Employees in this category would be entitled to the MTN exit package of three weeks of gross pay per completed year of service.