By Politico staff writer
The Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Rahman Swaray has assured the aggrieved staff of the government Telecommunication Company, Sierratel of swift action from the government in order to resolve their long-standing salary issue.
The irate workers who claimed to have gone for four months without pay approached the minister on Thursday 17th March 2022, at his Youyi Building office in Freetown to express their grievances and intimate him of another industrial strike action they intend to take.
In his statement at the meeting, the Secretary-General of the Sierra Leone Union of Postal and Telecommunications Employees (SLUPTE), Edward Kamara, said that the Management of Sierratel has turned a blind eye to workers' welfare, even after several representations and strike actions. He said they are calling on the Minister again because of the trust they have in his leadership and how he has been working towards seeing that they get what is due them.
“Mr. Minister, we know you stepped in when we took our initial action but we want to tell you that despite your efforts, the Management Team at Sierratel have not responded to the recommendations they committed to and we are now running out of patience. That is why we are here to inform you and to seek your advice once more on the next steps”, he said
Another member of the delegation, John Savage, said staff of Sierratel has gone without their salaries for 4 months, despite many representations on the matter, and they have now decided to lay down their tools and embark on strike action.
In his response, the Minister, Mohamed Rahman Swarray, expressed dissatisfaction over the situation, saying that the response from the Management is not good enough and he would have no option but to take action by involving the President himself.
He said that he cannot continue to tell the aggrieved staff to keep waiting for their salaries but that he will take it up with the President as early as Monday next week.
“We have enough crises on our hands now and we don’t want any more of these kinds of situations. I clearly understand the challenges and I believe that this is going entirely against the President’s aspirations for privatisation of the Institution, which, although it may have suffered a few undue delays, is firmly on track and will be completed soon”, he said, adding that the President is determined to go ahead with the process.
He added: “We are not looking back on this. If somebody doesn’t want to cooperate we will sweep you along. We will ensure that people get what is due them so that they will go to work with a high moral and be able to perform their duties diligently.”
It could be recalled that Politico recently published an article in which more than 200 Huges Security Guards attached to Sierratel were said to have gone for over seven months without pay.
The Chief of Operations at Hughes Security Agency Charles Jamiru admitted the agency has to pay the guards, stating that their concerns are genuine. He confirmed that the guards have not received their salaries since November 2020.
Jamiru explained that they have a two-year contract with Sierratel, noting that they had thought the contract was an attractive one, considering the type of institution. He said Sierratel has owed them for over sixteen months and that has led to them not being able to pay the guards. However, they continue to be deployed at the station even without pay hanging on hopes that the company will pay them someday.
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