The official conclusion of the protracted strike at MTN is now in sight. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has backtracked on its demands and agreed to the company's original proposal, which was put on the table before the start of the industrial action.
Themba Nyathi, chief human resources officer at MTN SA, reveals the union backed down from its demands at a meeting with the mobile operator at the weekend, agreeing to accept the company's 4% bonus payout in December and another payment of 8.33% in March 2016.
The CWU demanded a 30% bonus payout around the time it went out on strike, before revising this to 16%, and now conceding to accept the original 12% offered by MTN.
Nyathi says CWU also backed down completely from its request for a 10% annual salary increase, accepting the company's policy of performance-based pay hikes would remain in place. The union also dropped its call for workers to be paid for working on Sundays and public holidays when the company presented proof that employees are being compensated for those days in line with the basic conditions of employment.
"I don't know where they got the idea that workers aren't being paid for Sundays and public holidays. In the end, they couldn't even provide a single example of this being the case," says Nyathi.
He says the draft settlement, which was presented to MTN management at the weekend, did call for striking employees to be paid for the days they did not work, but the company will not budge on this point.
"The union is in a very difficult position now, because they promised their members they would be paid for those [strike days] by 26 June, but our payroll is already closed and the union agreed to the no work, no pay stipulation of the strike. So that is not going to happen, and the union is now panicking."
Nyathi says the CWU also wanted MTN to agree to host a joint press conference later this week, to announce the final agreement, so it could be positioned as if it was a settlement negotiated by union.
"I don't think MTN will entertain this; they are essentially just regurgitating our initial offer. However, they indicated they would sign the agreement, but they want MTN to hold their hands and extricate them from this situation, as they achieved nothing with the strike."
Change of plans
CWU president Clyde Mervin could this morning not reveal any information about the union's position, saying union officials and MTN management held a closed door meeting at the weekend, at which he was not present.
"I will have any update this afternoon, and [we] are organising a press conference for later this week," adding the strike - entering its fifth week - is still continuing for the time being. However, MTN says all employees are back at work.
Mervin also says the union's plans to involve a further 10 000 workers in a secondary strike against MTN have now been revised.
"We are now planning to organise a bigger industry-wide strike, which will also involve union members from the post office, Telkom and Sentech to protest against corruption, labour outsourcing and [low] wages in the sector."
Mervin says this will be a one-day strike that will see CWU members marching to the "JSE and government" to hand over a memorandum with their grievances.
He also denies the union made a mistake involving some 300 MTN contract workers in the strike, who were subsequently fired by their employment agencies. "We are going to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration to fight their cases. The strike certificate covered all union members, so we have a very strong case."
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