CWU issue ultimatum to Vodafone management
Accra, Aug 5, Ghanadot/GNA – The
National Executive of the Communications Workers Union (CWU),
have warned that they would advise themselves if the
management of Vodafone Ghana did not retract a letter issued
to individual workers informing them of the compulsory
redundancy and also inviting applications for voluntary
exit.
In a letter dated August 3, 2009, signed by Mr James Tetteh
Lartey, General Secretary of CWU, and addressed to Mr
Randell Hato, Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of Vodafone Ghana,
the CWU requested that management should either comply with
the earlier decisions of the Standing Joint Negotiating
Committee (SJNC) or have themselves to blame.
“We request you to retract the said letter and comply with
the earlier key decisions of the SJNC; failure of which we
will advise ourselves,” the letter said.
The letter was copied to the Minister of Communications,
Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC),
Minister of Employment and Social Welfare and National
Labour Commission.
One of the key decisions of the SJNC was that after
management had completed putting together the “Business
Transformation Plan” for Vodafone Ghana, it would first
submit it to the leadership of the local CWU and other
stakeholders for consideration before implementation.
But management last Friday, July 31, 2009 unilaterally held
a press conference to announce a compulsory redundancy plan,
as part of the business transformation programme, without
recourse to the parties in and the key decisions of the SJNC.
On that same day, July 31, 2009, management distributed
copies of a letter titled “Business Transformation Update”
to individual workers informing them, among other things, of
the compulsory redundancy of 950 workers by the close of
November 2009.
The letter, tagged “PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL” also said that
management was willing to accept and consider applications
for voluntary redundancy from individuals and treat them on
case to case basis.
Even though management admitted in the letter that the local
union of the CWU had requested that workers covered by the
Collective Bargaining Agreement should be exempted from the
further voluntary redundancy, they insisted that “it is
critical that we give everyone a personal choice during
these times of change.”
The CWU described the management letter to individual
workers as ‘provocative’, ‘vicious’ and ‘vexatious’, saying
it was unfortunate that management unilaterally decided to
violate the key decisions of the SJNC, of which Mr Hato is
still the Chairman.
It said it was also unfortunate for Mr Hato to have
attempted to undermine a statutory body as the SJNC,
established under the Labour Act, 2003, to promote and
sustain union-management co-existence.
The letter said management had displayed an old-fashioned
arrogance, intransigence and authoritarianism and given the
signal that they were insensitive to the plight of ordinary
Vodafone workers.
“Management ‘power-show-off’ and unbridled authoritarianism
are unacceptable in modern labour relations.
“We regret to state that Vodafone management does not
respect the application of due process and procedures of
consultation on matters which are crucial and critical
regarding the welfare of the employees,” it said.
The CWU reminded Vodafone management that the company was
not wholly owned by Vodafone and that the contribution and
opinion of the minority shareholder, the government of
Ghana, was equally significant in the promotion of sound and
healthy labour relations.
The letter advised the Vodafone management to stick to the
rules and regulations governing union-management relations
and reminded them that the workers had demonstrated maturity
in dealing successfully with previous managements of the
company and that should be respected.
The government of Ghana, the minority shareholder, owns 30
per cent in Vodafone Ghana.
GNA
