MTN\u2019s plans to outsource a portion of its call centre facilities have been met with outrage by the Communications Workers Union (CWU), calling the decision a \u201cjobs bloodbath\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, MTN announced that in a bid to \u201coptimise its operations and enhance customer experience\u201d, a hybrid outsource model would result in the service provider retaining some call centre facilities while others would be outsourced.<\/p>\n
The company said it had commenced the process of engaging with the employees and the unions regarding its plans in line with Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act.<\/p>\n
\u201cMTN can confirm that a consultation process took place with the leadership of the Communication Workers Union (CWU). MTN management met with CWU leadership on more than one occasion where this matter was tabled and discussed,” Ike Dube, Business Risk Management head at MTN SA, told Fin24.<\/p>\n
“MTN and the CWU may have had differences regarding the proposed model during these discussions, but the CWU leadership was fully appraised of the strategy,\u201d said Dube.<\/p>\n
However, the CWU’s general secretary, Aubrey Tshabalala, said that the matter was raised by MTN in a meeting but never approved by the union.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore MTN embarks on this jobs bloodbath we want every outstanding argument to be resolved, which includes the conversion of casual staff into permanent staff. We cannot allow ourselves to be ambushed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
From May 20, 2015, MTN staff embarked on a strike over bonuses, the conversion of casual staff into permanent staff, back-pay and overtime payment, which lasted until July 16, 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve have seen Vodacom and Telkom adopt a similar strategy and we\u2019ve seen that this does not work. What they are doing is replacing highly skilled and well-trained workers, and replacing them with unskilled workers \u2013 replacing quality with cheap labour,\u201d said Tshabalala.<\/p>\n
\u201cMTN has found a simple way to get out of this by just speaking to a few staff members,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, MTN expects the process of appointing a third-party vendor to be completed by September this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe outsource partners have a sound financial track record and have an impeccable reputation in the call centre industry, having provided services to a number of companies in the retail, telecommunications and financial services sectors,\u201d the company said in statement.<\/p>\n
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