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MTN releases relief funds to thousands of employees

Samuel Mungadze
By Samuel Mungadze, Africa editor
Johannesburg, 10 Sept 2020
Godfrey Motsa, MTN SA CEO.
Godfrey Motsa, MTN SA CEO.

MTN SA has disbursed COVID-19 relief funds to assist thousands of its staff who have been impacted by the effects of the virus.

The fund was set up in March by senior managers, including CEO Godfrey Motsa, when they gave up their annual salary increases to help staff affected by the pandemic.

The company this week disbursed the funds to over 3 000 workers.

“This week, a once-off payment of R800 was made to all our level one and two employees, which includes 3 679 permanent staff, graduates, payroll temps and contractors,” says Jacqui O’Sullivan, MTN SA’s executive for corporate affairs.

“The funds are aimed at assisting these employees with any COVID-19-related needs they may have, including the purchasing of additional personal protective equipment and food. Eligible MTNers needed to be working for MTN as of 31 July 2020.

“MTN initiated an emergency COVID-19 employee relief fund in March 2020. Both business leaders and employees contributed to the fund with the aim of assisting fellow MTNers in need during this challenging time.

“To this end, we have made several COVID-19-related payments from our fund. These payments have been made upon application and is on a case by case basis,” notes O’Sullivan.

Earlier this year, MTN SA’s executive team announced it will forgo annual salary increases and divert those funds into an employee support fund to assist MTN families that have specific COVID-19-related issues.

“Our employees are facing the same pressures in their households as are being felt across the country and we felt it imperative that we continue with the annual salary increase for all other employees in this time of great economic pressure,” O’Sullivan said at the time.

Yesterday, MTN staff welcomed the company’s gesture, saying the support came in handy, especially for those working in stores, whose commissions have been affected by the weak economic environment.

MTN’s move comes at a time when many companies in the sector are under strain, which has led to massive retrenchments.

The operator has in the past few weeks been stepping up its COVID-19 relief efforts, providing additional expanded packages, ranging from equipment to food support, to the most affected areas across the country.

It also supplied ICT equipment and infrastructure, valued at around R2 million, in the Gauteng province.

The support included 500 (7-inch) tablets, with 3GB data provision for three months, for community healthcare workers. The tablets and data were valued at R1.05 million, and are being used to capture and record information from community screenings in real-time.

The telco also distributed 5 500 food parcels, to the value of R3.5 million, to worst-affected communities across the country. 

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