Ericsson fails to give local staff information on looming job cuts
The Ericsson Group headquarters in Kista, Stockholm. PHOTO | AFP
Embattled global electronics giant Ericsson is unwilling to provide some information to its local employees who fear an impending retrenchment.
The employees had initially sought to know who among the 500 people the company has targeted for retrenchment are in the Kenya office, and the affected departments.
In a letter sent to management after obtaining a court order temporarily stopping the retrenchment, the workers sought information on the number, names, ages and job descriptions of non-Kenyans working for the company and how long they had served.
In response Ericsson, through Coulson Harney Advocates, stated that the information being sought “has nothing” to do with the case already filed in the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
Further, Ericsson said that the information sought was confidential and relates to third parties, “it cannot thus be provided in the manner or in the circumstances demanded.”
The Kenyan employees, through Apollo and Company Advocates, obtained a court order suspending the voluntary retrenchment until today when the application will be heard.
The employees also want to be provided with names of non-Kenyans who have applied for permits to work Kenya and their positions.
“These documents are required to determine whether the constitutional and statutory rights of our clients have been infringed or are about to be infringed, and whether there has been any breach to the constitutional and statutory provision,” their lawyers stated in their letter.
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