MTN's client service call centre in Durban has come to a standstill, after temporary staff downed tools and started picketing outside the building yesterday evening, demanding a ban on labour broking.
Around 300 workers from MTN's smallest call centre, in Mount Edgecombe, are refusing to field calls until they are hired permanently by the cellular operator. The workers, employed by staffing agency Tlhalefang Placement, want to be hired permanently and for MTN to do away with its agency.
Staff members allege they are being prevented from joining the Communication Workers Union, which is affiliated with the Congress of SA Trade Union (Cosatu).
Cosatu has been demanding a ban on labour broking, arguing that employment agencies provide cheap labour to their “client” companies, to save them from having to give workers benefits such as medical aid and pensions.
However, Business Process enabling SA, an umbrella body for the call centre industry, has warned that a ban on labour broking would harm the sector, causing it to become uncompetitive and lead to job losses.
Ring-ring
Calls at MTN's KwaZulu-Natal prepaid client service centre have not been answered since yesterday evening and are being rerouted to the company's other centres, because of the standoff between staff and the employment agency.
MTN, Africa's largest cellular operator, has three call centres in SA. The largest, with 2 500 staff, is based in Johannesburg. The company also has an operation in Polokwane, which has 1 800 agents, and the smallest, with 600 staff members, is based in Mount Edgecombe in KwaZulu-Natal.
Ramosie alleges staff members are being blocked from doing so as Tlhalefang is delaying the process, and around 300 workers are picketing in a bid to have their demands heard.
Employees are unhappy because bonuses are being reserved for permanent MTN staff, and the temporary workers don't get benefits, says Ramosie. He says the temporary staff members also want salary increases.
These are issues that the union would be able to negotiate with the agency if staff had not been prevented them from unionising, he says. Ramosie holds MTN and Tlhalefang equally accountable, as temporary staff are indirectly working for the cellular operator.
Ramosie says the union is trying to reach consensus with Tlhalefang, but it has been “running away”. The union may take the fight to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and include temporary staff from the other call centres under “one umbrella”, he says.
One of the workers, Wiseman Mazompa, told ITWeb he has been working as a call centre agent for four years, but does not receive any benefits, and has not received a salary increase since joining the company.
No can do
MTN human resources executive Themba Nyathi argues that there is no business case for hiring the workers on a permanent basis. Nyathi says only about 100 people are picketing.
Nyathi points out that if the company acceded to the workers' demands, its business case may change and staff could be retrenched. In addition, striking workers are in danger of losing their jobs, because they have embarked on an unprotected strike and MTN may be forced to take drastic measures to protect its business, he adds.
MTN hires temporary staff on a permanent basis when it has the capacity to do so. So far, he says, 60% of staff at its three call centres have been hired permanently, says Nyathi.
The operator opened the KwaZulu-Natal and Polokwane call centres about six years ago as part of a drive to create jobs in rural areas. Nyathi says, however, the company cannot make all of these jobs permanent as the number of agents fluctuates, based on demand.
Mount Edgecombe handles about a quarter of MTN's customer service calls, says Nyathi. These calls are currently being rerouted to Johannesburg and Polokwane, and business has not been disrupted, he adds.
Of the 600 staff at the KwaZulu-Natal centre, 450 staff work on a temporary shift basis. Of these, 45% were recruited by Tlhalefang, says Nyathi.
Tlhalefang operations manager Vanessa Rajah was in a meeting this morning and did not return a message requesting comment.
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