The South Sudan Workers Trade Union has urged the telecommunication company, MTN, to reverse the decision to suspend national staff leaders over a petition seeking pay rise.

The MTN management suspended the five staffs last week after making a case that their salaries should be raised due to the devaluation of the pound.

Other issues included equal treatment of national staff with their international counterparts.

There are more than 180 workers at the company.

Some 92 employees signed the petition last week, but the management sought clarification on other issues such as the capacity in which each individual signed and whether all of them read the document.

The Secretary General of the Workers Trade Union, Kachuol Majong Kachuol says he met the MTN management today over the matter.

‘‘And on our side we told them if they do not stop this procedure, we will also go back to review, or to check, the contract which was signed between company and employees,” says Kachuol.

However, the MTN management says it is investigating the national staff leaders.

‘‘We have set up a hearing for them. No one is guilty yet. It is just a process. At the end of the day, depending on the facts that the staff members bring up to the inquiry, they may not be found guilty of the allegations or charges that have been labeled against them,” said Khumbulani Dhlomo, the MTN Head of Corporate Services.

It is not clear what the national staff leaders have been charged with.