Airtel Resumes Operations In Abuja

Airtel Nigeria has thanked its customers across the country particularly those in the Federal Capital Territory and environs as it opened its offices across the country following an end to the face off over outsourcing between labour and its business partners.

Airtel Nigeria Chief Excutive Officer and Managing Director Mr. Rajan Swaroop in a statement recently said the telecommunications firm was grateful for the loyalty of its customers while the impasse lasted. Airtel has also restored services to the Federal Capital Territory and the adjoining parts of northern Nigeria.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience the situation may have caused our customers just as we thank them for their understanding. We equally commend our customers for their loyalty and abiding faith in the Airtel brand,” he said.

“We wish to reassure customers of Airtel’s continuous commitment to providing Nigerians a world-class mobile network, innovative and relevant products and services and affordable tariffs which will empower our people to succeed in their business and personal endeavours. Airtel remains committed to the task of building a robust telecommunication infrastructure and providing Nigerians a pleasant communication experience,” he added.

He reiterated that the unfortunate incident was due to a misunderstanding between its business partners, their employees and the labour unions. Though he said the affected workers were not employees of Airtel Nigeria, but the company would continue to persuade its partners to ensure fair treatment within the provisions of Nigeria’s labour laws and the dictates of best practice within and outside the industry.

The Airtel boss Lauded Federal Ministry of Labour, Federal Ministry of Communications Technology,  the Nigerian Communications  Commissions (NCC) the Senate and the House of Representatives for their roles in ensuring return to normalcy.

“We remain passionate about our role as a key player in the Nigerian economy in line with our vision of becoming the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians,” he said.

Officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the National Union of Post and Telecommunications Employees (NUPTE) forcefully closed offices and customer shops of Airtel across the country following a dispute over outsourcing between the workers and Airtel partners Spanco Channel BPO Limited and Tech Mahindra.

While the union claimed workers were sacked, Tech Mahindra and Spanco asserted that it was only a matter of expiration of the existing contracts between them and the Human Resources firms that recruited the workers.

The reopening of the offices and the restoration of service in Abuja and most of northern Nigeria came on the heel of an agreement reached by the telecommunication company, its partners, and the Labour Unions: the national Union of Post and Telecommunication Employees (NUPTE) and the Nigerian Labour Congree (NLC).

Following the development, the business partners, SPANCO, and Tech Mahindra will ensure that all the call centre staff affected by contract expiration before the dispute will resume work not later than Thursday, October 13, 2011.