Les employés de Mauritius Telecom ont écrit au Premier Ministre

To the Prime Minister

We, employees of Mauritius Telecom, are desperate and have no other alternative than to share our plight with you as we are subject to a very repressive and unhealthy atmosphere.

We are outraged by the way we are being treated. Our colleagues of procurement have been called by the police and two of them have been arrested. Both of them have more than 30 year’s work experience in the company and are loyal defendants of the interest of Mauritius Telecom. They have worked under several government regimes, but have never been treated in such inhumane way. Beyond the pressures and threats, some were denied any legal assistance by the company. It has always been the practice to offer the services of legal counsels to employees when they are to depone to police, Icac, court or any other legal instances. The same practice was applied in the sniffing case investigation. But, our colleagues from procurement have been deprived the right to counsel. This is unfair and unacceptable! They should be released immediately.

Our voices no longer reach higher management. Mr Kapil Reesaul, the CEO, is never available to meet staff. He is just busy protecting himself, enjoying his benefits, planning his trips abroad, and scheduling endless strategic meetings which never result in any innovative launches anyway. He has no concern for staff whatsoever. Now it is clear that he will not hesitate to jeopardise staff and company’s interest to be the blue-eyed boy of the PMO. It is the first time that we are witnessing politics controlling everything in the company. Employees are being questioned and if someone tries to present his arguments, he is either threatened or transferred or shown the exit door. Even our phone calls and emails are being constantly tracked.

More than 200 colleagues have worked on the copper project. All set processes have been followed at field, store, procurement and finance level. Even the internal audit and external audit undertaken by the American firm, FTI, did not find anything which could have been qualified as ‘illegal’. We are being unjustly targeted. The processes defined and adhered to under the copper project were clearly explained in the legal case of Mauritius Telecom against Top Fm. The said case was supported with facts and relevant proofs. It was definitely a clear-cut winning case for Mauritius Telecom. But why the case, worth Rs 100 million, was dropped by Mauritius Telecom recently? Did the external legal counsel faced any political dilemma in defending MT against Top Fm, thereby confirming that all procedures are to the point and proving the allegation against MT to be wrong?

There is an overall feeling of helplessness and disgust today. We are being used as a scapegoat. The trade unions and France Telecom representatives are also helpless. We have no one to defend us. Please consider our request to keep political revenge out of Mauritius Telecom and its staff. Let us live and work peacefully.

We have deliberately chosen to share our concerns anonymously in order to protect us and our families.

From employees of Mauritius Telecom