Patriotic Nigerians, Airtel telecommunication yesterday sacked all their customer care staff due to salary disagreement. They were paid abt N80,000 per month. Their services has been outsourced to a new indian company which is offering to pay N 30,000 per month ($200) N65,000 Per Month with no additional incentive. Fellow Nigerian about three thousand workers lost their jobs yesterday. Let us join hands together as one and say NO to modern day "Slavery" by a fellow "Third World Country" stop loading your Airtel lines and on d 9th of October everyone having an Airtel sim should not "Make Calls" or "Send Texts" enough is enough from Multi National Corporations. Globalcom pays its customer services agents N200,000. We are Nigerians and should be treated with respect. I do not work in Airtel or leave in Nigeria but I have friends and family who do,and this injustice must not be allowed. Thank you forward to all friends and Family we have only 9days to strike,let's show them the power of Nigerian Youths. Happy Independence

its true just called a friend of mine there and he confirmed it very bad
i think this should make front page we never can tell whos is reading it

I feel for them. I have therefore copied and pasted your post to my facebook where over 500 will get to see it. Hopefully we can achieve something with this.

@ OP. Please the message over facebook too. I have done my part by posting it on my wall as well as posting it on GEJ's wall where those who view his Independence address will surely see it.

I don't know what make those motherfuker think we Nigerian don't deserve more??They sud understand that without us,they will be nobody!!.We take lead in the world in all ramification.They keep on ban pple frm recharge 2day because they don't value their workers.Anyway,na them dey loss oo.

sad

This should spread via BBM too!

Just posted it on facebook. These Asians are turning us into slaves in our own country.

Yes and Thanks guys, I weep because a Cousin is affected, I knew how happy he was when he got that 3yrs ago even before it was bought over by Airtel, LET'S SAY NO TO MODERN DAY SLAVERY BY CITIZENS OF A THIRD WORLD CONTRY, IT CATASTROPHIC.

glo does not pay its customer care staff 200k per month. Tel ur govt to provide nepa.

^^^suspected Indian,

otokx:

glo does not pay its customer care staff 200k per month. Tel your govt to provide nepa.

wat has public power got 2 do with this.r u even human?dont annoy me o!

It is sad things have to come down to this.
I continue to state the fact that Telecoms operators are the ones that continue to reduce tariffs due to competiton without any visible sign that the operating environment in Nigeria has changed. In fact the cost of operation has consistently gone up. Technology is also evolving at a very fast rate in the industry so the need to consistently change or upgrade their equipment. The obvious one POWER translating to DIESEL is also there.
We should all forget what we hear about them making profits, the profit margings are down seriously and most of them are looking for ways to keep the bussiness running profitably. If you are an engineer in these companies you will agree that HUAWEI and ZTE products are now dominating while Erricson, Alcatel and Siemens are seriously losing market due to this simple reason of cutting costs( chinese products are cheaper).

The OP lied about GLO paying customer care agents 200k, I can tell you that all the operators are running there bussiness in Nigeria using similar bussiness models. Outsourcing is the current trend now. MTN and GLO have not implementd it yet but I can confidently tell anyone on this forum that very soon they will follow suit.
I know people and have friends that work for all the major operators in Nigeria and the story is similar, Even Etisalat that came with mouth watering offers in terms of renumeration have calmed down. It is Airtel today, but it will be MTN and GLO tomorrow. Etisalat is already using the managed services model since they started.

Once again it is sad that people have lost their jobs but a wholistic approach to solving this problem is for government to help out. Power issue should be resolved quickly and
NITEL and MTEL must work for this to stop, SIMPLE.

This is very bad.

Na wa o. So paying them 30k is justifiable? I'm sure you said that cos you don't work there. If they had cut down staff strength that would have been better, not paying them meagre 30k. Most of them have in addition to their first degrees certificates in customer care professional courses. Where do they pay professionals 30k? Airtel is a multinational and not a business centre. If they can't keep up they should pack and go!

otokx:

glo does not pay its customer care staff 200k per month. Tel your govt to provide nepa.

It is disheartening reading your post. I know you are a Nigerian but with inferior brain, while i do not support the idea of misinforming the public to achieve a targeted goal (the payment of 200k by Glo to it`s Customer care) the step been initiated is a course that every sound mind and well meaning Nigerian should support. If the Nigerian Youths should follow this step to bring the airtel services down on the 9th of October 2011 then they will be forced to go back to the negotiation table, if the environment is not conducive for their operation then they should negotiate with the Government and where it is not working  they should shut their doors and move out, must the citizens of this country suffer for it,when they are raking in millions of profits At this point, the Government does not want to loose it`s foreign investors and so they may also give a listening ear if electricity is the issue  and i believe the Government is doing everything possible in the Power sector as their is considerable improvement in power supply lately.
But i bet you this Asians are die hard capitalists who do not care about the welfare of it`s workers.

rman:

It is sad things have to come down to this.
I continue to state the fact that Telecoms operators are the ones that continue to reduce tariffs due to competiton without any visible sign that the operating environment in Nigeria has changed. In fact the cost of operation has consistently gone up. Technology is also evolving at a very fast rate in the industry so the need to consistently change or upgrade their equipment. The obvious one POWER translating to DIESEL is also there.
We should all forget what we hear about them making profits, the profit margings are down seriously and most of them are looking for ways to keep the bussiness running profitably. If you are an engineer in these companies you will agree that HUAWEI and ZTE products are now dominating while Erricson, Alcatel and Siemens are seriously losing market due to this simple reason of cutting costs( chinese products are cheaper).

The OP lied about GLO paying customer care agents 200k, I can tell you that all the operators are running there bussiness in Nigeria using similar bussiness models. Outsourcing is the current trend now. MTN and GLO have not implementd it yet but I can confidently tell anyone on this forum that very soon they will follow suit.
I know people and have friends that work for all the major operators in Nigeria and the story is similar, Even Etisalat that came with mouth watering offers in terms of renumeration have calmed down. It is Airtel today, but it will be MTN and GLO tomorrow. Etisalat is already using the managed services model since they started.

Once again it is sad that people have lost their jobs but a wholistic approach to solving this problem is for government to help out. Power issue should be resolved quickly and
NITEL and MTEL must work for this to stop, SIMPLE.

didnt they capitalist put dat in2 consideration yrs bak when they were riping nigerians?we r proud 2 b nigerians and they feel d biz enviroment is not healthy 4 dem let dem park their xploiting brains and F.u.k off.SIMPLE

This is so sad.

the telecomms honeymoon is over

its business. nothing anyone can do about it.

customer care is not a highly skilled position. it can be probably  done by secondary school grads.

implication - there is a large pool of candidates available. i also doubt if they are paid that much in india, which has an even higher population. its sad, but it is business. companies everywhere will d whatever they can within and without the law  to improve on their bottom line.

These people have always been dealing Nigerian youths with deadly capitalist blows. I grew up in Apapa and they own lots of factories, restaurants and pubs there. I know how they treat Nigerian youths - employ them en-mass and sack them at random. No insurance, if you sustain permanent injuries you are on your own. They disregard and insult at will and sometimes hit with the hands. They have been the ones causing alot of rot in the youths in Apapa. This may not be my perfect opportunity to deal with them, but i'll get involved. hey have been the ones causing alot of rot in the youths in Apapa. This may not be my perfect opportunity to deal with them, but i'll get involved.

i really feel for those affected!

hhhhhh

pkv:

wat has public power got 2 do with this.r u even human?dont annoy me o!

You are right about Glo not paying its c/care agent N200k infact that was way back early 2010, today entry level for c/care is btwn 950k and 1.5m per annum.
Concerning using outsourcing company you are wrong, vist Glo call centre in V/I and check their ID card you will see different names of outsourcing company on them, and somewhere on the ID, you will see something like seconded to Glo.
The bottom line is that indians and lebanese are making life unbearable for us in our own country and this must stop.

but why are u folks castigating the chap who said glo dont pay 200k?

it has nothing to do with the situation, he never said the situation was good or justified, he said contrary to @ op's assertion, Glo do not pay 200k to customer care workers.
i get the nationalistic cameraderie and back thumping thing. its quite normal on Nairaland

those damned indians, coming to rip nigerians off, i advocate that we start a company, amass money so we can take over the coy back from the indians and pay our fellow nigerians 200k for customer care, ahan its a telco naw, not biz center!!

mcheew, buncha keyboard warriors.  better stop showing big mouth tarzan here and start giving constructive advice, are u going to force an employee on an employer?


the affected people should take up the matter with the[b] ministry of Labor[/b] and raise the issue in the mass media so it garners attention.  this calling people names on NL is not attention seeking, neither is your facebook campaign, u think this is Syria?
ask all these pple above to show up for a protest tomorrow in front of Airtel Hq, u wont see 1 soul.

The inhouse negotiation that had been going before was clearly mismanaged by the staff hence this decision by Management. which is not surprising, the average nigerian's idea of collective bargaining is to pull out idealistic figures from the sky and impose it on employers and refuse to budge A LA  NLC vs Fed Gov

what they need to do is to get both parties back to a table with sensible outsiders to broker decent agreement on wages.  besides the outsourcing coys surely do not pay 30k

Terrible.

pkv:

didnt they capitalist put dat in2 consideration yrs bak when they were riping nigerians?we r proud 2 b nigerians and they feel d biz enviroment is not healthy 4 dem let dem park their xploiting brains and F.u.k off.SIMPLE

If they pack out, the new entrant will come and implement the same 30k you sent Airtel out for. Bussiness decision is made based on where the bussiness is heading not what has happened in the past. This is the reality in the telecoms sector. Protest and shouting on internet is not the solution to the problem.

y are we getting worked up? At 65k a month i can supply airtel 2500 nigerians to work in d new customer care. Infact 10percent will have UK masters. 18k ur governors have refused to pay yet u made no fuss about it.

"[b]My unreserved sympathy for those at the sharp end of forced structural adjustments. The truth though is that they face like the vast majority of us (with the obvious exception of government workers) the reality of globalisation worsened by the peculiarities of our very bad economy. However we need cheaper calls, like cheaper fuel, cheaper rents, etc and someone quite frankly has to pay for it.

Secondly, there is a prevailing misconception about the involvement of foreigners in economic activities via investments as those which bring sophisticated, overpaid jobs alone sometimes with conditions prevalent in the country of origin. Far from it because business considerations are governed 100% by cost and profit considerations.

I think the extractive industry has caused this and we know why they pay out of sync with the local economy. One, their products are 100% exported at a price no one can control, two the guilt factor, knowing it is a natural resource.

This skewed system has dulled our senses to the twin reasons why I for one would take my hard earned money abroad - an expansive and expensive market and two, cheap and sophisticated labour.  

Yes, Asia dominates world manufacturing today simply because they undercut western wages. Apple was accused yesterday of turning a blind eye to child labour practices among its suppliers and just today Nokia is tossing 3,500 jobs and shifting production from low cost Romania to lower cost China, yet no one perceives them as evil.

Airtel has every right to restructure its costs to survive and thrive. Anyway in present day Nigeria 240k for call centre job, haba. How much do air traffic controllers earn, how about engineers or junior doctors. Its unbelievably skewed.

Thus no thanks to Asians the aura and era of jackpot telecoms is fast fading for a more balanced reality.[/b] "

The quote above was made by a NL REFERENCE on a thread related to this( Airtel reduces workers salary by 60%)

He clearly understand what is going on

Is the 30k going to be work at home i.e even my sista can do customer care by just sitting at home and receiving the phone calls?

Only ediots would support what Airtel has done.

The idea that an Indian company is even making it in Nigeria, makes me want to blow up the whole country. SMH


Who is even on their network? Why would anyone even want to associate with them? SMH

did you guys really not see this coming?

when we failed to manage the compny as vmobile and sold out to zain, who sold out because the company was unprofitable for them, what were you expecting? an INDIAN company bought over zain. not an oyibo company. the  airtel india workers are probably in even worse working conditions than this 30k.

there is nada one can do except come to terms with the fact that the day of being a big boy/gal as a telecomms worker are over

did you guys really not see this coming?

when we failed to manage the compny as vmobile and sold out to zain, who sold out because the company was unprofitable for them, what were you expecting? an INDIAN company bought over zain. not an oyibo company. the  airtel india workers are probably in even worse working conditions than this 30k.

there is nada one can do except come to terms with the fact that the day of being a big boy/gal as a telecomms worker are over

You need to stop comparing Indian pay with Naija's, without putting it into context WRT standard of living. Standard of living in India is way lower than what you get in Nigeria. Meaning, you need more pay, in Nigeria, to achieve the same standard of living as you would in India.


Just because it is a low skill job doesnt mean the people working there should be treated as shyyt.