A human rights organisation, Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) has issued 7-day ultimatum to the Telecommunications giant , Globacom Limited to pay compensation and all entitlements to those married women whose appointments were terminated from the company recently or face a legal action.
This was contained in a letter addressed to the Managing Director Globacom Limited dated 16th March, 2018 and signed by the Executive Director of the organisation, Frank Tietie
The letter which was titled ” Demand for the payment of the sum of ( N5,700,000,000.00 ( Five Billion, Seven Hundred Million Naira) as Compensation for the unfair labour practice, amounting to the violation of the Fundamental Human Rights of the Married Women recently sacked by Globacom.”
The group noted that it has unassailable evidence that the recent termination of the employment of over 100 (one hundred) Nigerian women by Globacom Ltd, is linked to their status as married women.
Tietie explained that the acts of subjecting these women to beauty tests such as possessing good body shapes or declaring the number of child births recorded amongst other criteria, as an obnoxious, highly offensive and unfair labour practice which should attract punitive sanctions with wide international condemnation, on grounds amounting to a gross human right violation of the women’s right to freedom from discrimination as provided by Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other applicable international human rights instruments.
In addition, that the married women were sacked on a day after the International Women’s Day- 8th March, 2018, is a mockery of internationally held values on women in general.
” Therefore, having secured their consent as members of CASER, we on the behalf of the women who were sacked because of their marital status and other abusive considerations, hereby demand for the immediate payment of the sum of *N50,000,000.00* (Fifty Million Naira ) to each of them thus, amounting to not less than *N5,700,000,000.00* (Five Billion, Seven Hundred Million Naira) as compensation to the women, for the gross violation of their fundament right to freedom from discrimination on grounds of sex- being female gender “
CASER agrees that Globacom reserves the right to terminate the employment of its employees. However, where the company exercises that right in blatant, flagrant and crass violation of the special rights of Nigerian women, it must then seriously pay for such disregard for human rights, especially the rights of women.
The human rights organisation warned that failure to compensate these women financially, within a period of Seven (7) days from the receipt of this demand letter, shall attract serious administrative and legal consequences against Globacom at the instance of CASER.
” We therefore advise strongly that the company complies with the above demand in its own interest and show that it is a business entity that respects the peculiar fundamental human rights of Nigerian women ” Tietie noted.
The letter was copied to the Minister, Federal Ministry of labour & Productivity, Minister, Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs,
Executive Vice Chairman/ CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission and Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission.
Others include, Country Director, Centre for Democracy & Development, Nigeria
Country Director, Amnesty International, Nigeria United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.