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The Communication Workers' Union of South Africa was not consulted on the restructuring of MTN, one of the country's largest telecom operators.



The union says "We are at the stage where MTN defies the labour laws of our country as they refuse to consult the CWU as per the provisions of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 section 189 (3)."



The company denies the claims, while the union argues that the company's proposed retrenchments are not genuine. "MTN is using the current workers to train agents of companies which will take over immediately after the workers are retrenched," according to the CWU. In addition, the union says that the company is performing poorly in relation to South Africa "transformation" policy as jobs are reserved for certain race groups and there was no affirmative action.



MTN's human resources director Themba Nyathi said that the company is not obliged to recognise the union due to their low levels of representation. 6% of MTN's staff are members of the CWU, although the union says that the company has actively fought to keep membership below 10% - the minimum required at law for union recognition.