Airtel Nigeria staffers: Indian Managers Treat Us Like Slaves

ABUJA, June 09, (THEWILL) - Protests marred operations today at telecommunications firm, Airtel, Abuja Call Centre near Protea Hotel as staffers known as call agents demanded for change, claiming that the Indian company managing the call centre treats them like slaves.

The agents whose protests affected the free flow of traffic around the vicinity near the presidential villa said they were further irked when they were paid half salaries for May, despite working diligently to meet up with work average of answering over 160 customer care per shift of about 6 hours.

The Indian managers seemed not to be fulfilled as they recently announced plans to increase work time for the agents from 6 to 10 hours, with no corresponding increase in their remuneration.

An angry call agent said, “These Indians have no human feeling at all. They give us poor salaries, and as if unsatisfied, they want to extend our working hrs from 6hrs to 10hrs. Operating systems and applications are outdated and frustrating. They have reduced off days from 2 days to 1 day, they don’t want us to have workers union, they gave us no identity cards, no staff lines, no medicals or other benefits. We are just being maltreated in silence. We cannot take this any longer because they won’t allow foreigners do this to them in their country. We beg the government and relevant agencies to come to our aid for proper regulation.”

Meanwhile, the Indian company, Spanco, is said to be at loggerheads with recruiting agencies, Hrindexx, CCSNLand Bezaleel over who controls recruitment and is on the verge of terminating contracts before expiration, after exploiting call agents to make stupendous profits in the telecoms sector. This has led to staff salaries for May 2011 being delayed till date.

As a result of the protest, subscribers of Airtel who have issues with their subscription may not be attended to as the call agents have vowed not to resume work until their voices are heard and their maltreatment addressed.

Meanwhile, in response to the protest, Airtel in an email statement to THEWILL by its Rajan Swaroop, CEO and Managing Director stated its side of the story.

The statement titled “Re: Abuja Call Centre Protest”, reads, “This morning, Thursday, June 9, 2011, employees at the Call Centre in Asokoro, Abuja, run by one of our service providers, Spanco Nigeria Limited protested a dispute between them and their employer.

Spanco Nigeria Limited has been providing Call Centre Services to Airtel customers in Nigeria.

“The Management of Airtel wishes to assure Nigerians that today’s incident would not affect the integrity of the network or the quality of service delivery to customers in Abuja area.

“While respecting the contractual relationship between Spanco and its employees, Airtel has stepped in to ensure speedy resolution of the crisis in recognition of international best labour practices and the interest of our customers.

“At Airtel, one of our core values, as a world class employer of choice and a responsible corporate citizen, is the unwavering commitment to the welfare, personal and professional accomplishments of our employees.

“The Management of Airtel regrets the unfortunate incident and restates its commitment to the development of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria,” Swaroop added.