MTN strike action at an end

POLOKWANE – Communication Workers Union (CWU) members at MTN who were on strike for eight weeks returned to work last week after the company and union reached and agreement and ended the strike last Thursday.

MTN CEO, Mteto Nyati, said the core of the agreement was that the union accepted MTN’s bonus and salary adjustment policy.

“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,” Nyati said.

He apologised for the inconvenience that MTN customers suffered during the strike and thanked them for their patience and loyalty.

According to a media release from CWU, MTN and the union reached the following agreement:

• The bonus policy, which was based on the performance of the company will change and from next year, members will receive a 12% bonus whether or not the company has performed.

• All casual workers employed by the company will be converted to permanent employees.

• Payment for working on Sundays and public holidays will be backdated and going forward the company will comply with the law of the country in this regard.

CWU general secretary, Aubrey Tshabalala, said the recognition agreement would be concluded within 30 days after the signing of the settlement agreement.

“We are thankful that we have been able to reach an agreement with the company.

“We would like to thank our members at MTN for their resilience despite the unprecedented bitter strike that they embarked on that lasted for eight weeks,” Tshabalala said.