MTN, telecommunication giant, says it has
approached a higher court to set aside a judgment by
National Industrial Court against it.

On Wednesday, Oyepoju Oyewumi, justice of the Ondo
division of the court, asked the company to pay Paul
Odunewu, a former network group operations manager
of the company, N4.8 billion for alleged wrongful
termination of his appointment.

Odunewu had filed a suit against MTN, alleging that
his appointment was wrongfully terminated and that
his entitlements were not paid.

In a statement issued by Omasan Ogisi, general
manager corporate affairs of the company, on
Saturday, MTN said it is committed to treating all its
employees fairly.

“We can confirm that the National industrial Court took
a position which we consider detrimental to our
interests in a suit filed by a former employee. The
court’s position has been reviewed by our internal and
external counsel,” the statement read.

“Following that review, we have approached a higher
court requesting that the decision of the industrial
court be set aside. We believe that there are critical
elements of our case which were not fully considered
by the lower court before taking its position.

“We are confident that the outcome at the superior
court will be different and that justice will not only be
done but will be seen to be done in this case.

“MTN is committed to a policy of openness, integrity,
diligence and professionalism in the conduct of
business – with customers, shareholders and each
other. Our code of conduct stipulates high labour
standards regarding all our employees. In addition, we
have processes in place to ensure that we act in
accordance with international standards and local
laws.

“We, therefore, maintain that we treat all our
employees fairly, as captured in the details of our
employment contracts, signed and legally binding.
This situation was no different. The most basic
commitment we make – to our customers, our
shareholders, and each other – is to conduct
ourselves in an ethical, honest and respectful
manner.”

TheCable