About 2,000 South African workers of MTN Group went on strike on 20 May, for the first time since 1994 demanding more pay. Reuters reported that about 700 workers temporarily blocked the main road leading to MTN's head office, where they delivered their demands. They were clad in red T-shirts and carried placards with slogans such as "MTN's integrity is gone".
Thabo Magalane, deputy general secretary of the Communications Workers Union (CWU), said in an address to workers that MTN continues to rake in profits as the biggest mobile operator on the continent and cannot deny the very people who make it possible to prosper, the right to share in its success.
The CWU wants a 10 percent pay rise, a 16 percent bonus and higher allowances for work done over weekends and holidays. Magalane said staff can no longer tolerate the arrogance and plain refusal of the company to meet legitimate, reasonable demands of workers.
Ahmad Farouk, head of MTN's South African operations, had to be escorted by police back to the company's offices through the crowd of protesters. MTN, along with rivals in Africa's most advanced economy, is trying to contain costs in the face of tough competition that has hit profit margins.
