Business News of Saturday, 10 March 2018

Source: 3news.com

AirtelTigo workers don’t have appointment letters; receive old salaries for new roles

File photo - AirtelTigo logo File photo - AirtelTigo logo

Some workers of AirtelTigo say management of the telecommunication company has been dragging its feet in issuing them with appointment letters under the merger though they have been assigned new roles.

According to them, after they successfully passed an interview, they were made to start work in their new roles without any official letter stating clearly the terms of their appointment and how much they are to receive as salaries.

For the past two months, the workers say though they have been working in their new roles, they still receive the old salaries which were being paid them before the merger of the two telecom companies- Airtel and Tigo.

3news.com gathered only directors of the company were issued with offer letters after their interviews. However, the offer letter did not state how much they would be paid as compensation/salaries for the new roles assigned them.

It is unclear whether their new roles will come with new salaries and if they would be given salary arrears should they get their appointment letters from the management of the company

“In the case of managers, no offer letter has been given, talk less of compensation yet we have started in our new roles. In fact, at the interviews, no discussion was made in relation to compensation,” one of the workers who spoke to 3news.com on condition of anonymity said.

Our sources say the Human Resource Managers of both Airtel and Tigo have not been forthcoming with information on exactly what is going on.

“When you ask, all they will say is, ‘we are working on it and will be communicated soon’. We don’t know whether it is the HR which has become a rubber-stamp or the entire leadership team who have been inept in dealing with the whole situation,” the worker told 3news.com

“And truth be told, the human resources of these two companies have been apprehensive, anxious and scared and it hasn’t been managed well at all,” the source added.

The staff are thus appealing to the National Communications Authority, National Labour Commission and the Ministry of Communication to intervene to ensure that they are treated fairly.

Meanwhile, some staff have also expressed their decision to resign from the company, but say they are yet communicating same to the management.

Efforts to get management of the company to respond to the claims have so far been unsuccessful. 3news.com is still working to get a response from them.