MTN, AirtelTigo, and Vodafone employees in Ghana's telecom industry have given notice that they will begin an indefinite statewide strike on Monday, September 5, 2022.

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The workers have demanded, among other things, the immediate recall of all targeted members of the Telecom and IT Professionals Union (TIP) whose contracts have not been renewed by the employers by mere association with the Union and other Union leaders who are members of the current Joint Standing Negotiation Committee and Subcommittee negotiating the 2022 CA and salary increment.

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This demand was made in a statement dated August 31, 2022, which GhanaWeb was able to obtain.“The Telecom and IT Professionals Union (TIP), made up of telecom engineers, technicians, I.

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T professionals, and other allied workers, 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 strike action in response to the direct attack by the employers at the leadership of the Union (From National, Regional and Branch) that has threatened the very existence of the Union and its members,” part of the statement read.

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According to the union, these four employers - Linfra Ghana Limited, MP Infrastructure Ghana Limited, Reime Ghana Limited, and Reliance Personal Services - who are subcontractors and employment agencies of Huawei Technologies on the managed service operations of MTN, Vodafone, and AirtelTigo, have refused to sign a joint letter with the Union to refer to the pending issues that all parties have declared deadlock on since July 2022.

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The pending items are as follows:a. Determination of the Principal employer and the role of the principal employer in the employment relationship.b. Provisions to re-negotiate to restore equilibrium in the CA.c. Severance.d. Professional Subscription Fees.e. Workload and Working Tools (Laptops, Mobile phones, Data bundle and airtime, and Pickup vehicles).f. Proposed Forty-five (45%) salary increment for 2022.

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The group further noted that Ghana's telecommunications system would be left on autopilot until its needs are addressed.

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