Few days after MultiChoice announced that it will be sacking over 2000 employees across its customer centers and walk-in centers, the company has suspended the decision. However, the jobs of these staff members are still not safe.
The job cuts, which were planned to happen across all MultiChoice centers in Africa, was put aside to entertain consultations with the employees. The parent company of DSTV and GOTV didn’t, however, cancel the planned sack. The delay is only expected to affect the timing and number of employees that will eventually be retrenched.
Recall that the pay-tv company had announced that it intends to restructure its customer service delivery model. The restructuring was initially expected to result in some 2000 employees losing their jobs. The company blamed it all on what it called “customers’ behaviour”.
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According to MultiChoice, more subscribers now prefer to use the company’s self-service to conduct transactions. The customers also use MultiChoice’s social media platforms to interact with the company instead of the walk-in centers. For this reason, there is need to sack some employees because the company’s walk-in centres are becoming redundant.
Meanwhile, the move was highly criticised, a situation that compelled the company to allow the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) to lead the process of retrenchment, starting with consultations on Friday, June 28, 2019.
Labour Act fights back against MultiChoice: Another factor that could have stopped the pay-tv in its tracks was the Labour Act which frowns at large-scale retrenchments. While the Labour Relations Act allows employers to dismiss employees for reasons of operational requirements, the Section 189 of the LRA makes it difficult for companies to sack employees at large-scale retrenchments; the breach of the act could spell doom for the company.
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The sack is still happening: Once again, bear in mind that the suspension is only intended to allow for a more coordinated approach towards addressing the situation. At the end, it is expected to save some jobs, as MultiChoice looks to retain multi-skilled employees who are tech-savvy enough to be incorporated into the company’s new customer service delivery mode.
Commenting on the suspension, the company said the first consultation meeting, which “will be facilitated by an independent commissioner from the CCMA, will go ahead as planned and there will be further communication in due course.”
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