Former Rwandatel employees to receive benefits

After several months haggling, Rwandatel and its former employees have reached an agreement that will see each retrenched worker receive long standing benefits. Cleophas Kabasiita, the company’s Corporate and Communications Manager said this is the outcome of a series of discussions between the board of directors and the retrenched staff. “The discussions also saw both parties sign a Memorandum of Understanding as a sign of acceptance of the terminal package,” she said. A statement by the second national telecom operator does not reveal the value of the benefits though it will be calculated depending on the time of service. The developments come after 120 former employees of Rwandatel filed a petition with CESTRAR, the umbrella body of workers’ unions to protest their sacking earlier this year. The workers’ lay-off came after LAP Green networks acquired majority shares in Rwandatel. The company went through major restructuring in form of a business transformation process. This process included a change in the company structure to a new one that would support the strategies of the company better. During the process, the existing staff members at that time re-applied for the new positions as they existed in the new company structure and went through a series of examinations to ensure they were fit for the jobs. Although all laid-off staff were given their terminal packages as stipulated in the labour law, they had issues with the way they were sacked. They petitioned management to step in and at least give them another chance. The CESTRAR Secretary General, Eric Manzi also claimed that a number of articles in the Labour Code such as the retrenchment package and staff regulations were breached. The Labour Code states that a company should inform the labour inspector about its intentions to retrench employees. Ends

News

Former Rwandatel employees to receive benefits