Fin24 reports that MTN’s plans to outsource a portion of its call centre facilities have been met with outrage by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which called the decision a “jobs bloodbath”.  

On Wednesday, MTN announced that a hybrid outsource model would result in the service provider retaining some call centre facilities while others would be outsourced.  The company indicated it had commenced the process of engaging with the employees and the unions regarding its plans.  However, the CWU's general secretary, Aubrey Tshabalala, said that the matter was raised by MTN in a meeting but never approved by the union.  “What they are doing is replacing highly skilled and well-trained workers, and replacing them with unskilled workers – replacing quality with cheap labour,” said Tshabalala.  MTN expects the process of appointing a third-party vendor to be completed by September this year.

• Read this report by Kyle Venktess in full at Fin24

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page