Chants of \u201cvoetsek\u201d reverberated outside MTN\u2019s head office on Wednesday as the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) called for pay hikes at the telecoms firm.<\/p>\n
Over 100 workers went on an organised strike outside MTN\u2019s Johannesburg headquarters as they called for a 10% pay rise and bonus pay of 16% of their annual salaries.<\/p>\n
MTN, though, is only offering 4% bonus pay to workers.<\/p>\n
At midday, striking workers were chanting: \u201cAhmad Farouk run, Themba Nyathi run, Sifiso Dabengwa run.\u201d Then they chanted: \u201cClose MTN close, shut down MTN shut down… voetsek Farouk, voetsek, voetsek Themba Nyathi voetsek.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahmad Farouk is the MTN SA CEO, Themba Nyathi the head of human resources at MTN and Sifiso Dabengwa is the MTN Group CEO.<\/p>\n
Leaders at the CWU strike then lashed out at MTN for allegedly misleading the media on how many members the union has in the company.<\/p>\n
MTN says CWU members do not make up a 30% threshold and that the company therefore does not recognise the union.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I speak to you, the last time we were here we had 3 000 members,\u201d CWU president Clyde Mervin told Fin24.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time we are coming through to MTN we get more stop orders, so we are confident that we have passed the threshold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are above 35%,\u201d Mervin told Fin24.<\/p>\n
He further threatened a strike at MTN reminiscent of the Post Office strike last year, which crippled postal services and was followed by the resignation of board members.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what we did in the Post Office, we had different marches, we have removed the board… and this is what we are going to do at MTN.”<\/p>\n
However, Mervin said the CWU is prepared to negotiate on its salary and bonus pay demands.<\/p>\n
Other issues the CWU wants addressed include doing away with \u201cunfair\u201d labour practices and labour brokers, and implementing a task team at MTN to determine which workers have been short-changed by salary adjustments.<\/p>\n
Farouk signed a memorandum handed over by the CWU. The union wants MTN to respond in seven days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are prepared to engage but MTN must come to the party first,\u201d said Mervin.<\/p>\n
CWU not recognised<\/strong><\/p>\n MTN\u2019s head of human resources Themba Nyathi told Fin24 earlier on Wednesday that the CWU is not a recognised union by the telecoms company.<\/p>\n “They don’t have the numbers for recognition. In order to be recognised as a union, you are supposed to have 30% representativity.<\/p>\n “They only have plus minus 17% representation.”<\/p>\n Nevertheless, MTN\u2019s Nyathi told Fin24 that it is still engaging with the union.<\/p>\n