The Communications Workers Union (CWU) of Vodafone Ghana appears to be agitating unnecessarily over the planned retrenchment exercise announced by the management of the company on July 2009.
The management met senior staff at the rally after some 300 Union members resorted to a quasi-demonstration at the premises of the company�s Head office in Accra yesterday.
�The meeting was the fifth to be organized by the union and was intended to raise the confidence level of our members towards the exercise. Our members have refused to attend meetings arranged by management of the company since the announcement of the lay-offs,� an official of the union disclosed.
Samuel Ohene Kesseku, Chairman of the CWU Vodafone, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE in an interview a couple of hours after the demonstration said: �Management agrees with us in one breath and does the contrary.�
He further revealed that the management of Vodafone Ghana was threatening union members, adding, �Sometimes a worker would be on trek and then suddenly he would receive a phone call inviting him to an interview or an exams.
Additionally, you could be told you have passed one session, but would be told another. In fact such things make us restless and ignite fear and uncertainty in our members.�
Mr. Kesseku further confirmed that the union had requested for a detailed roll-out plan from management.
He also urged management of the company to adhere strictly to the Labour Act 651in its bid to lay off workers.
Reacting to the concerns raised by CWU, Albert Don Chebe, Corporate Communications Manager, Vodafone Ghana, expressed dismay at the activities and utterances of the Union, adding that the union had deliberately refused to honour any invitation extended to them.
Citing the Collective Bargaining Agreement entered into by the Ghana Telecommunications Limited, CWU and the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) dated January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009, the Corporate Communications Manager said: �Vodafone Ghana would notify the GTUC and CWU on its intended retrenchment. The affected employees shall be informed of the termination of their appointments not less than three months prior to the date.�
Affected Workers, he said, would receive 3 months salary for the number of years that they had worked in the organization. Presently, Vodafone Ghana has 3,300 workers and is by far more than the workers at both MTN and Tigo.
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