Telecommunications giants, TelOne, are in the process of laying off 423 of its workers, the majority of whom still had Grade 7 and Zimbabwe Junior Certificate (ZJC) as the highest educational qualification in their CVs.
TelOne head of corporate communications, Melody Harry Friday said the company was laying off workers who did not have the skills required to propel the parastatal to greater heights. She said:
TelOne is transforming into a digital entity in line with its new strategic thrust. For this drive to succeed, relevant skills and qualifications emerged as the main driver of the company strategy.
As such, individuals whose skills set were rendered redundant in line with global technological demands and digitalisation market trends are the ones who were affected.
The affected individuals have Grade 7 and ZJC as their highest educational qualification.
NewZimbabwe reports that TelOne urged the now affected individuals as back as 2016 to upgrade their qualifications to a minimum of Ordinary Level but have not done so to date.
The affected employees have, through their unions, raised the red flag against what they find to be an unfair labour decision surrounding their fate.
The Communication Workers Union of Zimbabwe (CWUZ) secretary-general, Mbuso Jubane accused TelOne of foul play alleging the exercise was not being undertaken procedurally.
The union added that they were finding it difficult to accept the reasons behind the laying off since TelOne did not share the information in a transparent manner.
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