Africa-Press – South-Africa. MTN says a statement by trade union Solidarity citing retrenchments retrenchments at the mobile network operator are callous “fear-mongering”. It said it would continue with its digital transformation strategy, which will result in 450 new jobs.
The telecoms giant found itself in the crosshairs of Solidarity after it served its employees with section 189 notices last week.
In a statement on its website on Friday, the union lashed out at MTN for planning a “retrenchment process” describing it as a callous and immoral move, given its strong financial performance.
Solidarity also slammed the timing of MTN’s announcement, saying with inflation and fuel price increases, people are already struggling to stay afloat.
“Solidarity … believes it is difficult to see these retrenchments through a lens other than one coloured by MTN’s intended takeover of Telkom,” it said.
But the mobile operator has defended the notice, saying it served as a formal notice of its transformation process, which began in 2020. The 450 new jobs will be in digital, technology, financial technology and wholesale.
MTN’s corporate affairs executive Jacqui O’Sullivan explained that the notice was a legal requirement to inform employees of the transformation process and that it will affect some roles.
This means that 173 people will have to apply for 205 new or restructured roles, while some of the positions will be outsourced.
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As for Solidarity’s statement, O’Sullivan said: “It is disappointing that Solidarity has chosen to adopt an untrue and purposefully alarmist narrative, that seeks to create an entirely false link between a project that has been running for two years, with a potential acquisition [of Telkom] that is in the most embryonic of stages.”
She added that the telecoms group will be focused on reskilling, upskilling and moving employees to other parts of the businesses, with retrenchments being a last resort. The union’s “callous fear-mongering” was insensitive and unfair, she said.
The group, which released its interim results for the six months ended 30, this week had a strong performance with its profit growing by 47% for the half-year and its subscribers growing to almost 282 million.
Despite how it fared in the half-year, the telecoms giant warned of price hikes in some markets.
While MTN did not elaborate on the hikes, it said: “Subject to regulatory approvals, we are looking to implement moderate price increases in certain markets where inflationary pressures have intensified.
“There are select other markets where re-pricing is being investigated potentially through measures such as reduced discounting where these are too deep, which will help manage effective pricing and spend of our customers.”
The timing of these price changes will be decided on a case-by-case basis, following discussions with authorities and the implementation of the group’s strategies.
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