Retrenchments Gobble Up BTC Profits

PBT expected to dip by as much P76m Restructuring a major contributor to decline Massive increase in costs of replacing stolen cables also a factor The retrenchment of 200 employees by Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) will result in the telco’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) taking a slump by as much as P76 million, The Business Weekly & Review has established. Friday last week marked the official termination of the 200 employees following a protracted legal dispute between their union and BTC. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type="show" ihc_mb_who="1,2,3,4" ihc_mb_template="1" ] On the same day, 9 December 2022, BTC issued a cautionary statement to the effect that its pre-tax profit for the half-year ended 30 September 2022 is likely to be between 73 percent and 77 percent (P73.1 million and P76.9 million) lower than the P99.7 million achieved in the previous corresponding period. “The major contributors to the decline in PBT include a once-off provision for organisational restructuring and an exponential increase in costs associated with the replacement of stolen copper cables,” said the cautionary statement to shareholders. The BTC retrenchment exercise was mired in controversy from the start, with the Botswana Telecommunications Employees Union (BOTEU) often accusing the telco of doing things in secrecy and in bad faith. However, BTC has maintained that the retrenchment was carried out in good faith and that all due processes were followed. “Throughout this process, BTC engaged in meaningful consultations with the union and/or affected employees,” BTC Head of Stakeholder Relations, Lesego Goitsemang, told The Business Weekly & Review in previous interview. “The consultations were done in accordance with the law and the parties’ signed Recognition Agreement.” This came after BOTEU accused BTC management of not consulting and engaging with the Union in good faith and disrespecting the process. In the end, the retrenchment of the affected employees was effected last week after the union’s efforts to have the employees absorbed in the company’s new structure proved unsuccessful. According to a letter written by BTC’s Head of Human Resources, Mmamotse Wilkinson, the affected employees formed part of the redundancy pool following development of a new BTC (To Be) organisational structure. Employees were reportedly allowed to look for possible placement in the new structure through a process of that entailed a five-week period of job searching which elapsed on 16 November 2022. [/ihc-hide-content]

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Retrenchments Gobble Up BTC Profits

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