A Case of Corporate Rascality: MTN & Communication Network Support Service Limited in Jos, Plateau State


Along with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the bipolar ideological war ended with West’s capitalism triumphing over East’s socialism. This development spurred series of inter-border socio-economic and political diffusion referred to as globalization, a structure that exists in favour of the metropoles or the so-called developed countries and at the excruciating expense of developing countries. One of the tools for perpetuating this great evil against the world’s poor is the Multinational Money turner referred to in conventional usage as Multinational Corporations (MNC). A most visible consequence of the paradigm shift following the balkanization of the Soviet Union (end of the Cold War) is the proliferation of the MNCs. Not to beat about the bush, MNCs are business empires spanning national borders out to make profits at all costs, most times at the expense of their host communities. The point here is neither how the Cold War ended nor the many global changes that followed its demise. This brief background is only necessary for depth but the subject matter is the recent corporate rascality demonstrated by MTN Nigeria and its Call Centre manager in Jos, Communications Network Support Service Limited (CNSSL). It is a story of slavery, corporate torture, lies, bullying and the vulnerability of the Nigerian youth in the face of exploitation by a conceited multinational. It is also a narrative of a society bereft of the statutes, the political will and moral aptitude to confront injustice and abuse. I beg you to give me a few minutes.

MTN Nigeria established a 2, 200 staff capacity Call Centre in Jos in 2010 and contracted CNSSL to manage it. CNSSL swung into action by recruiting young graduates in Plateau and neighbouring states. The new recruits were placed on a monthly salary of N35, 200 with a promise that at the expiration of a six-month probation period the salary would be doubled and all other benefits enjoyed by Call Centre employees in other states would be made available. Disappointed with the poor remuneration some left after their training but many stayed. At the end of the probation, a few vocal ones decided to remind the management of CNSSL of its pronouncements. But CNSSL reacted in a most unexpected manner. 18 of those who demanded that the company live up to its promises and the statutes in its handbook were served sacked letters. This move discouraged further agitations. Understandably, the young professionals knew better than to risk losing a bird in hand in a country in a society where there is none in the bush for those that do not have someone up there. They stayed and suffered injustice, toiling to feed themselves and their dependents instead of giving in to excuses, inertia or crime like many would do given the same circumstance.

It is important to paint a clear picture of the working condition of these young Nigerians before the probation elapsed. You would recall that I mentioned the Call Centre has 2, 200 staff capacity. Sadly until its recent closure, the activities of the company were run by 1, 700 employees, meaning? They were not only overworked but doubly underpaid. A particular batch worked 30 Days Night straight without any form of incentive safe for a sachet of Nescafe and two cubes of St. Louis sugar every night. It was in the heat of this dehumanization that an employee lost his life. I hinted of MNCs’ disregard for its host communities, this is it. Not even the death of a promising youth could deter the exploitative tendency of a mercantilist errand boy. Yes! We know that CNSSL is only running MTN errands. I will therefore ask you to be patient with me when I throw jabs at the GSM giant (MTN Nigeria) where you think CNSSL should have been blamed. You will have a comprehensive grasp of It soon. 

It was not until late 2011 that the exploitation at the MTN Call Centre gained the attention of the Plateau State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). Between October and December the same year, series of meetings were held by NLC and the management of CNSSL to address the injustice. A meeting was scheduled for January 2012 when a final resolution would be issued. Unfortunately, the scheduled meeting could not take place because of the subsidy saga where NLC was a major actor. With the subsidy protests behind Nigerians, NLC Jos Chapter initiated moves to resume talks with the management of CNSSL. Sadly, CNSSL deliberately ignored all the notices of meeting served by NLC. After several failed efforts, NLC and TUC finally took a more stringent step: CNSSL/MTN Call Centre in Jos was picketed. The office complex was locked down for four days. Talks became inevitable. That NLC had to go this far to get CNSSL back to talks tells you a little about how conceited the management of the Call Centre is.

The picketing was suspended only after a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by CNSSL management on one side and NLC, TUC- and NUPTE. The content of the said agreement is summarized as follows:
1.    Disparity in salaries and wages of CNSSL Jos call centre will be marked up by 22.5% of net salary across board with effect from 1st April, 2012 and will subsequently be reviewed upward through CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) within 30 days.

2.    In compliance with the Labour Laws and respect for workers Fundamental Right, both parties agree that the process of unionization and check-off dues deductions and remittance should commence immediately.

3.    In view of item 1 and 2, article (2) and 22b as contained in the condition of service of CNSSL should be deleted and replaced with the agreed terms.

4.    The process of Collective Bargaining Agreement to review the existing condition of service should commence immediately and terminate on or before 30th April, 2012.

5.    No workers of CNSSL Jos call centre shall be victimized for joining the union or participating in the picketing.
Base on the above agreements, the Nigerian Labour Congress Hereby suspends the picketing that commenced on the 14th March, 2012.  The officer/officers that appended their signatures include:
-    Chairperson NLC Plateau Chapter.
-    Asst Secretary-Organizing/industrial Relations NLC National Headquarters.
-    National President, NUPTE
-    Ag General Secretary, NUPTE
-    Regional Technical Officer, CNSSL
-    General Manager, Human Resources & Administration CNSSL

The management of CNSSL did not wait for April to end before once again displaying its disdain and total disrespect for Nigerians, Nigeria and its institutions. It violated the soul of the MOU by serving 10 of the Call Centre employees (including 6 exco members) letters of indefinite suspension on 27 April 2012. These persons were also abducted into an inner room and in the presence of armed security agents coerced to submit their identity cards and sign letters that would have rendered them guilty as accused. Fortunately, the attention of NLC was immediately called and the situation was helped. April salary with the 22.5 % increment was denied these persons.

Even after the 22.5 % increment was effected, there still exist a wide disparity between the salaries of Jos Call centre employees and those in Kaduna, Lagos, Kano or the three-month old call centre in Kogi State. For instance employees of the same company in Kano, Kaduna and Lagos call centres are paid N96, 344 for 16 days and 4 night shifts in a month; while a staff of Jos call Centre takes home N41, 351.83k for 18 days and 5 night shifts in a month for CCRs on standard calls only!

The crimes of CNSSL are not only against young and hardworking Nigerians in Plateau, the state has also fallen prey. In the course of its fact finding on the company, the Plateau State House of Assembly observed that CNSSL management despite implementing a tax deduction on every its staff since inception has failed to adequately remit the said deductions to Plateau State Board of Internal Revenue. This is also true of pension contributions deducted from staff salaries but not remitted to the staff’s accounts with the pension manager.

On 3rd June CNSSL came up with a new salary structure that seemed attractive on the surface. However, it took just little computation of the figures to see that it was only a white-washed dirty deal. After the sundry deductions were made the new scheme was just as lamentable.

When CNSSL and MTN Nigeria noticed the tenacity of the employees in their struggle toward fairness and taking what was rightly theirs, the company announced plans to wind up its operations in Jos and embarked on terminating its contract with its employees. Any business can decide to fold up, no qualms. But as if to deal a final blow on Plateau State and its people, MTN’s Corporate Services Executive, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, announced that its Call Centre manager, CNSSL, was ending its operations in Jos because of insecurity. Many, including the Plateau State government, know this is a blatant lie because apart from the fact that the Call Centre complex is located in the safest part of Jos metropolis near the Nigerian Air Force Base, the centre had in the past operated and compelled its staff to report to work even when the security situation was more volatile than now. It is only an enemy of Plateau that will declare to the world that the state is unsafe for businesses when in truth peace is gradually being restored.

Why is MTN also to Blame?
I have mentioned MTN severally and many may wonder why. Before I answer why I will do something equally important. I want you to have a rough idea of how much MTN makes in Nigeria.  Few Google searches will show you that in terms of profiteering, MTN is second to none. It has proven too fast paced even for the country’s oil industry in the race of churning out financial gains. For instance, in its 2010 financial year the company made N2.57 trillion globally. Of this figure MTN Nigeria made N749 billion which translates into 29 % of the company’s global revenue for that year. Nigeria’s oil industry yielded N345.8 billion and it was news.  One would have expected that a firm this lucrative will have a lot to show in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility. I have stumbled on claims by MTN of provisions of scholarships, health services and all, but it does not take a third eye to see that any effort MTN tags as Corporate Social Responsibility is just a well disguised advertorial for its services. In truth, aside from the scary profits it makes, albeit for unbelievably poor services, the company uses scams like the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire TV Show, Callertunes  and sundry other credit-deducting schemes to steal from an unsuspecting Nigerian public. MTN is guilty of corporate criminality, what remains is for this to be proven in a court of law.      

But this is not why I blamed MTN for the Jos call centre affair. Investigations have revealed that certain top guns in MTN Nigeria have critical stakes in CNSSL. Even though one Eng. Gbenga Adebayo parades himself as the proprietor of CNSSL, and doubles as president of Licenced Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, he is but a thinly disguised front. Farouk Umar, former CEO MTN Nigeria and now CEO West Africa and a few of his cronies are the puppeteers behind the curtain. See? That is why MTN is to blame for the entire Call Centre saga. That is also why an executive of MTN had to come out in the open and lie to the world on behalf of CNSSL that Plateau State is not safe for business.

MTN must know that bigger and similarly rascally corporations have been brought to their knees by ordinary people. To avoid retribution from Nigerians MTN must quickly do the needful:

Call the CNSSL management to order, pay our brothers, sisters and friends their due and apologise to Plateau State government and citizens for the blatant lies told about the State. We are waiting and watching.

http://peacetalkquarterly..com/2012/08/a-case…
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