Share

MultiChoice call centre workers to down tools on Friday

Workers at MultiChoice Call Centres across the country will on Friday down tools, in protest over planned job cuts by the pay-TV company, a union has said.

The Information Communication Technology (ICTU) said MultiChoice had threatened employees with "civil action" for launching what it called a "historic strike" which would impact millions of subscribers who may require customer service assistance.

"The strike action will begin tomorrow, 23 August 2019, and it is expected to inconvenience all customer 7.7 million [customers] who are either having payment or service queries," the union said in a statement.

News of jobs cuts impacting as many as 2 194 MultiChoice employees came out in June, in what was attributed to roll-out of new technologies. 

ICTU said the strike would be in support of its position about retrenchment proceedings, and accused MultiChoice of failing to provide sufficient evidence supporting the need for the lay-offs, as required by the law. The union said MultiChoice had withheld or failed to provide the necessary information.

"In the absence of this critical information, the blatantly arrogant R50.4bn profit company has then declared war with workers and ICTU."

Fin24 was unable to immediately reach MultiChoice for comment by phone on Thursday evening.

MultiChoice was previously part of Naspers and unbundled from its parent company in September 2018. The company listed on the JSE in February.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.04
-0.7%
Rand - Pound
24.02
-0.5%
Rand - Euro
20.53
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.7%
Platinum
900.15
+0.4%
Palladium
1,000.00
-0.2%
Gold
2,212.54
+0.8%
Silver
24.59
-0.2%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,094
+0.6%
All Share
74,290
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,964
+2.3%
Industrial 25
103,585
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,463
-0.4%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders