Rain retrenching employees

The Mobile network operator Rain, has reportedly retrenched dozens of employees as part of the transition of its Johannesburg offices from a headquarters into a regional branch, even though the company had previously promised that the change would not result in job losses.

A close source with knowledge of the matter alleged that the company “effectively retrenched over 100 employees” after refusing to relocate to the operator’s new headquarters in Cape Town. The source mentioned that Rain gave the employees an ultimatum to relocate or face retrenchment, without offering salary increases for positions in the new city.

It also said that the employees did not have proper representation in the Section 189 retrenchment process. “The consultation processes were nothing but a sham; they were headed by the COO, CFO and the ‘non-existent’ human relations office,” the source added.

Reports also say that the employees were served with their letters of retrenchment a month and a half ago, with their final day at the office being 31 July 2023.

Rain did confirm that they dismissed about 54 employees but said that this had been by the book while responding to MyBroadband’s questions. “The process of this transition has been conducted in compliance with the Labour Relations Act,” the company said.

“Like any structural change, new roles have been established, and employees who were affected had the opportunity to apply for these newly created positions.” – Rain added.

Rain also reiterated that it was not closing its Johannesburg office — it would become one of several regional branches, including those recently established in Durban and Port Elizabeth. The company said their aim was aimed to have regional branches in central locations across the country, which would “hopefully” create more jobs and opportunities.

“At Rain, we are committed to investing in South Africa and ultimately creating more job opportunities as we grow both the 5G and national 4G mobile networks,” the company stated.

All of this is taking place despite Rain previously saying that no Johannesburg employees would lose their jobs due to the moving of its headquarters to Cape Town. That was after Rain employees alleged the operator was pressuring them into moving to Cape Town.

Employees were also concerned about the security of their jobs following the company outsourcing its customer support to India-based Wipro in November 2022.