The Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC), has declared its readiness to partner with the Federal Government to stop out-sourcing of jobs in the telecommunication sector, among others.
NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said this in a statement made available to newsmen Monday in Abuja.
“In this new year, we shall work with the relevant arms and agencies of government to checkmate and halt the practices of multinational corporations, especially in the telecommunication, and oil and gas sectors, who are adding to the economic crisis in the country by their new habit of out-sourcing of jobs Nigerians can do to new destinations in Asia, especially Dubai and India,” he said.
He said there were reports that Ericsson Nigeria, local subsidiary of the Global Telecommunication Solution Provider, had disengaged all Nigerian staff in its network operating centres and transferred its operation to India.
Wabba noted that Ericsson Nigeria, had, in the last few years, managed the MTN Network from among its Nigerian staff.
“Now, in the name of off-shoring, Indian workers are being brought to understudy their Nigerian counterparts, and thereafter these jobs monitoring MTN and other telecommunication networks are then transferred to India.
“These have huge implications for our national security, in addition to the fact that jobs that Nigerians are competent in are being moved out of the country.
As the cyber controversy between the USA and Russia is unfolding, with the network operating centres moved out of the country, we can easily be shut out from the rest of the world without our being able to do anything about it,” Wabba said.
The labour leader said that the experience over Boko Haram and the SIM registration controversy with MTN clearly illustrates the inherent danger to Nigeria’s national security interest of the move by these multinationals.
He said that HUAWEI, a telecommunication giant was repsonsible for managing about 75 per cent of network operation centres such as Etisalat, Airtel, part of the GLO and part of MTN network operating centres in Nigeria.
“They have also commenced the knowledge transfer from Nigerian engineers to their Indian counterparts preparatory to also moving their operations to India.
“We will work with the relevant committees of the National assembly, ministries and agencies to protect our national interest,” he said.