The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has withdrawn its interdict application against MTN's call centre outsourcing plans.
This is a double blow to the union this week, as in a similar case, the Labour Court found Telkom handled the restructuring process associated with the CWU's current strike in a fair manner.
The CWU sought an interdict against Telkom to prevent it from completing the retrenchment phase of the company's restructuring of its corporate office.
Last week, the labour body said it was heading to court over MTN's plans to outsource some of its call centre facilities.
It argued that it viewed MTN's move to outsourcing as unlawful as it would result in a lot of employees losing jobs.
"MTN believes it has been vindicated by the CWU's decision to withdraw its interdict application and believes this decision further affirms MTN has conducted itself in a reasonable manner and had been engaging the employees in good faith," the mobile operator says in a statement.
Earlier this month, MTN announced its plans to outsource some of its call centre facilities, saying it will adopt a hybrid outsource model which will result in some call centres being outsourced to an experienced third-party vendor while others are retained in-house.
According to the telco, this move is aimed at optimising MTN's operations and enhancing customer experience.
The finalisation of this commercial undertaking will enable MTN to streamline its operations and focus on its core competencies, improve its ability to offer its customers a better customer value proposition and reduce operational costs, it notes.
"MTN will continue to maintain an open door policy with the union on the matter, in order to reach an outcome that will benefit all the parties concerned, including our customers," says Nhlanhla Qwabe, MTN SA's chief human resources officer.
The CWU says it will continue engaging with MTN over the transfer of 980 call centre workers to a third-party, with a meeting set for tomorrow.
Meanwhile, CWU members at Telkom continue to strike after four weeks. The CWU is demanding an 11% annual salary increase for its members, a three-year moratorium on retrenchments, a better gain sharing scheme for workers, six months' maternity leave, as well as a more transformed executive.
Share