Viettel Cameroon workers decry favoritism

Employees at Viettel Cameroon have mobilised to denounce the company’s alleged favouritism towards Vietnamese managers at the expense of local employees, according to a report.

According to a report from Agence Ecofin, Viettel workers say the company has 317 Vietnamese workers, mainly managers, out of its total workforce of 600 people.

Management, however, estimates the figure at 100 or 150 Vietnamese employees maximum.

When it signed its licence in 2012, Viettel said it would create 6,300 jobs in the country.

Viettel Cameroon chief executive officer Moise Bayi reportedly told the government daily that Vietnamese workers are providing technical assistance. He said they had come to build the network and to transfer technology, it has been reported.

Bayi conceded that there were cultural barriers between Cameroonian and Vietnamese staff, but said they were lowering progressively.

The Vietnamese military owned mobile operator is Cameroon’s third largest telecoms firm.

According to BuddeComm, Cameroon had a mobile penetration rate of 69% at the end of 2013. Cameroon has a population of 21.7 million, according to the World Bank.

Other African markets where the Vietnamese ministry of defence-owned Viettel operates includes Mozambique, where it now operates under the Movitel banner.