Ghana’s telecommunications system faces an imminent shutdown as telecom workers are set to go on a nationwide strike from today.
The Telecom and IT Professionals Union (TIP), made up of telecom engineers and technicians who manage the key technical operations for the telecom operators, has served notice to the National Labour Commission (NLC) and their employers to embark on a strike due to poor conditions of service.
The move by the union follows a deadlock in salary negotiations between the union and management of the four sub-contractors (SBCs) who have been engaged by Huawei Technologies Limited to maintain the technical operations of MTN, AirtelTigo and Vodafone.
According to the workers, the four SBCs; Linfra Ghana Limited, MP Infrastructure Ghana Limited, Reime Ghana Limited and Reliance Personal Services, have failed to enhance their remuneration over the years despite the huge profits declared annually by the telcos and Huawei. A statement issued in Accra and signed by the General Secretary of the Union, Israel EdemAgbegbor said at the current salary negotiation by the Joint Standing Negotiation Committee (JSNC), which was meant to have taken place in September 2020, the Union proposed a 20 per cent pay increase, but management locked its offer at 3 per cent, after initially offering zero per cent.
In a letter dated March 12, 2021, to inform the NLC and SBCs of the intended action, the union explained that the four SBCs failed to act in good faith in addressing the concerns of the workers, and therefore, the union “does not wish to cooperate with management going forward until the workers’ concerns are resolved.
Ahead of the negotiations, the union served notice of an Industrial Action to the National Labour Commission, following delays in the implementation of an arbitral award directing management of the SBCs to collectively undertake a proper job evaluation and new salary structure to reflect standard industry remuneration.
However,the NLC intervened, and directed the SBCs to act on the concerns of the workers.
