MTN boss out ‘over strike’

Cellphone giant CEO Ahmad Farroukh, who resigned from his position, has felt the heat of the company’s ongoing protected strike, the Communications Workers Union claims.

Resignation of a CEO during a strike leaves unanswered questions, says expert

MTN boss Ahmad Farroukh, who resigned from his position, has certainly “felt the heat of the company’s ongoing strike”. This is according to the Communications Workers Union (CWU), whose members are in volved in a wage strike with MTN. The strike has became violent in the past two months.

Farroukh had replaced former MTN CEO Zunaid Bulbulia in August 2014. His resignation is effective as of July 31.

Union general secretary Aubrey Tshabalala yesterday said MTN was “feeling the pressure over a letter the union forwarded to the network giant”.

“…There was a letter from the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union telling them [MTN] that the union intends telling their members not to do business with MTN stores, in support of the CWU.

Apart from the letter, Uni Global union is also said to have called on MTN customers in various countries to switch off their cellphones for a period of five months, and Numsa was reportedly also busy “with plans to boycott MTN services.”

The CWU has been calling for Farroukh’s resignation all along.

Farroukh cited personal family reasons for his decision, MTN said in a statement.

Meanwhile Labour analyst Terry Bell decried Farroukh’s move. He said proper reasons needed to be offered by a CEO who resigns during a strike.

“It’s not a good sign at all,” Bell said. He added that the move left questions unanswered, such as: “Was Farroukh the main target?”, “Was there intimidation which led him to [resign]?”, and: “If he removes himself, will matters be settled?”

It was “standard practice”, Bell said, to use family or personal reasons as an explanation for resignations amidst a dispute. But this was not the responsible thing to do, said Bell.

“Someone in that position must make some comment. They should say yes, my family is under pressure. This is not acceptable behaviour,” he said.