Theto Mahlakoana
MTN has bowed to pressure by striking workers. The company issued an e-mail to its staff yesterday promising 12 percent bonuses between 2015 and 2016.
However, MTN would not move on the 10 percent wage increase demand made by workers, saying their policy limited increases to individual performance. The five-day strike, mainly by call centre agents, 80 percent of whom are outsourced staff to MTN, shut down some services last week.
The workers, represented by the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) were demanding 16 percent bonus payments and the conversion of outsourced staff to permanent.
Late yesterday, MTN group executive human resources manager, Themba Nyathi sent staff details of the new offer which would be unilaterally implemented.
CWU does not have recognition status at MTN and while they enjoy what the union described as a “cordial relationship”, their presence at the company will have no bearing on the decision to implement the newly increased offer.
“MTN has moved from a 4 percent to 8 percent guaranteed bonus, payable in two installments – March 2015 and December 2015. MTN has also implemented a guaranteed 12 percent for 2015 payable in two installments – the first 8 percent paid out in March 2016, and the remaining 4 percent paid out in December 2016,” said Nyathi.
But the majority of the striking workers would not receive these benefits as they were not MTN staffers.
Only 20 percent of the firm’s call centre staff were permanently employed by MTN.
Outsourcing
On the conversion of outsourced staff to permanent positions at MTN, Nyathi told Independent Media that the strike had instead bolstered their plan to outsource all its non-core services.
These included call centres and packaging services among others. It is unclear how this plan will affect workers who are permanently employed in those units.
“The strike is happening where there is manual labourers. Where people pack phones and call centres. And those people don’t work for us but outsourced companies. They are not temps, they’ve been outsourced,” he said.
CWU deputy general secretary Thabo Mogalane said that was inconsequential to them. “Even if outsourced, they operate within MTN and they are part of MTN, whether they are outsourced is immaterial to us.”
Mogalane and his colleagues were also consulting members on the new offers which included a proposal to refer their dispute to arbitration.
MTN hoped an independent third party could assist the parties in reaching a conclusion to their dispute.