Revealed: The Bad Things MTN Is Doing To Their Workers

I received this SOS message from an MTN staff who took her time to lay out their sufferings:

Dear Sirs/ Ma
Please I will like to bring to your notice the mismanagement and ill treatment of customer care representatives in Nigeria especially the call center. which is tantamount to corporate slavery by the Online management team and the CCRS service providers. Kindly note that they are termed Independent service provider because they claimed they are not MTN staff nor are they staff of their service providers. But they are been managed by Vendor Management. Please can anyone tell us who vendor management are because they are the ghost running the call center.

Please will anyone tell me of the organization that does not intimate their staff of the salary to be paid monthly and the analysis/breakdown of salary paid? Because different numerations was paid in February and March.

Since January 13th, 2014, Online Management Team increased the work days of call center agents from 4days to 5days without disclosing salary to be paid. they never intimated the agents of the change in schedule but a mail was sent on the 11th of January by Online Vendor management stating the effect/compliance of the schedule on 13th of January. The salary to be paid will only be disclosed by this month end, meaning they are not confident of the salary to be paid. That is why it is kept a secret. 

Please is it right for an employee not to know the breakdown/analysis of salary to be paid three months down the line? [Old] salaries was paid on 26th & 27th of February and in March salaries was paid on the 29th.

Despite the so-called segmentation of the CCRS, their earnings before they were segmented was far better off. Even now some of the CCRS are picking calls beyond their segments.Trainings is been given to call center agents where nine hours of their time is taken but they are been paid for six hours is this not tantamount to robbery of the agents. this is a dubious payment act. At least a break down of their salaries is to be given to them which was done before. they claimed the salary is fixed but invoice are sent to calculate hours worked without specifying what is paid per hour which was done before now.

The payment of Overtime was scrapped meaning when you work on public holidays you are been paid normal rates as regular days, the payment for day shift and night is same rate which is not done anywhere. the CCRS are not allowed to bid nor trade their schedule to afford for flexibility because that is what shift jobs are meant to be to give the individuals time to run their lives but that has been struck out.Many cannot afford to go back to school because they Twelve paid days leave and Six unpaid for the year and with the trading and bidding of schedules they trade with colleagues to go to school and do other things conveniently.

Alot of call center agents are been robbed daily on Apapa road due to traffic. An agent was stabbed during robbery attack in the face and arm which was posted on the social medias in February some have died and many had miscarriages. The management care less about the agents welfare and security but about their selfish ambitions and targets to frustrate the old agents so as to fire them or make them resign so as to employ new hands to pay peanuts. they are riding on the wings of unemployment in the country.and many are ill because of the crazy schedule which they are not concerned about.

Please note that Agents in VGC demonstrated when salary was paid in Janurary.

Enforcement of the new schedule is been monitored by Task Masters namely the so called Shift Leads that betrayed their colleagues in supporting the management in the implementation of the said rules. they sold their consciences for salary increment. the margin is far apart to that of the other agents.

Been sick on duty or calling in sick is tantamount to absenteeism and you will not be paid for it. at a time they were asked to send mails before going to the restroom. it is an of fence to charge phones, power bank, laptop etc in the office. Also note that last year march the agents been managed by MEMCOS (MTN co-operatives) and now CNSSL were forced to go get tax id with their personal monies when the contractors that managed them were deducting #5000 tax from the agents salary failed to do same. The CCRS that didn't comply were sacked. the so-called contractors are making more monies from each agents annually than the agents themselves. One Hundred naira (#100) is been deducted from every agent salary managed by CNSSL monthly and Two hundred and ten naira (#210) is been deducted for short payment when money is been refunded.

NOTE: there was such enslavery occurence in Jos some years back where agents were under paid by CNNSL and the Online Management team is still patronizing them if they don't have hidden agenda and it was for this reason the agents protested and the call center was shut down. The management of CNSSL are in charge of Mayfair CCRS and they were the one that were used as the cadaver of undue labour. And the salaries deducted from CNSSL CCRS was paid as bonus to the CCRS in Mayfair in February. The christmas gift been given to Staff in Nigeria was converted to money last year, while other service providers paid their representatives in November, CNSSL paid their Representatives in December and also taxed them on the money.

Every month One thousand nine hundred and fifty naira is deducted from the agents salaries for Medicals (THT) multiplied by the numbers of agents signed up by the agents. And they are a times not allowed to use the hospitals of their choice.

Team building has been cancelled and agents now conrtibute money to go for team building. Mother friendly schedule has been shortened to six months instead of one year

Thorough investigations must be carried out because the Manager Peter Nwaeke,and Partners like Cecilia Olugbenga-Kayode, Clement Aligbe, Lovelyn Madu and Jerry Aghahomovo in Apapa are running the call center like a primary school threatening the agents and slaves. Their rights are been trampled on and which i feel is not fair. The New S M (Nike Jagun) is going by what they tell her. i feel the Organisation has critically look at the situation because an happy and satisfied employee will deliver excellence and also make customers happy.

Enough is enough of the corporate slavery. so i will like the management to critically take this matter up because this act is really affecting the performance of the representatives and so as not to tarnish the image of this great organization and kill the zeal of performance in them . it is time to stop this madness.

Regards - Freda