Newly appointed MTN South Africa CEO Mteto Nyati today announced an agreement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) to end the two-month long strike immediately.
“The agreement serves the common interests of MTN and the employees‚ and allows MTN to focus on its core reason for existence‚ which is to deliver services to its customers‚” said Nyati.
“At the core of the agreement is that the union has accepted MTN’s bonus and salary adjustment policies‚” the company statement said‚ without providing any details.
In the brief statement‚ Nyati apologised for the inconvenience that MTN customers suffered during the strike.
Nyati’s appointment was announced on Monday‚ after previous boss Ahmad Farroukh stepped down less than a year into his tenure‚ taking up a new a job with Etihad Etisalat in Saudi Arabia.
Farroukh’s short tenure at the helm of SA’s second-largest mobile operator had been bumpy‚ Business Day reported. He had to cut costs while managing the strike that negatively affected services at a time when competition in the domestic market has been particularly tough. Average year-on-year expenditure by cellphone users declined in the first quarter.
The strike affected MTN’s service and product channels. Initially an estimated 2000 workers embarked on the strike‚ but in the past two weeks this had dropped to about 400‚ mainly at call centres and warehouses.
The CWU initially demanded a 16% guaranteed bonus and a 10% wage increase but later said it was willing to accept an 8% bonus‚ payable immediately instead of in two tranches‚ and that the 10% wage increase was negotiable.
The company implemented a 5% wage increase earlier this year.
MTN strike is over, says CEO
“The agreement serves the common interests of MTN and the employees‚ and allows MTN to focus on its core reason for existence‚ which is to deliver services to its customers‚” said Nyati.
“At the core of the agreement is that the union has accepted MTN’s bonus and salary adjustment policies‚” the company statement said‚ without providing any details.
In the brief statement‚ Nyati apologised for the inconvenience that MTN customers suffered during the strike.
Nyati’s appointment was announced on Monday‚ after previous boss Ahmad Farroukh stepped down less than a year into his tenure‚ taking up a new a job with Etihad Etisalat in Saudi Arabia.
Farroukh’s short tenure at the helm of SA’s second-largest mobile operator had been bumpy‚ Business Day reported. He had to cut costs while managing the strike that negatively affected services at a time when competition in the domestic market has been particularly tough. Average year-on-year expenditure by cellphone users declined in the first quarter.
The strike affected MTN’s service and product channels. Initially an estimated 2000 workers embarked on the strike‚ but in the past two weeks this had dropped to about 400‚ mainly at call centres and warehouses.
The CWU initially demanded a 16% guaranteed bonus and a 10% wage increase but later said it was willing to accept an 8% bonus‚ payable immediately instead of in two tranches‚ and that the 10% wage increase was negotiable.
The company implemented a 5% wage increase earlier this year.
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