Twitter is haywire at the moment since Elon Musk took over the platform in October 2022. The move came after a long negotiation and a legal battle for delaying the $44 billion purchase. Musk implemented many radical steps to revamp it into “Twitter 2.0”. The steps included working long hours or resigning, and the mass layoffs he implemented on November 4th, 2022.
He conducted mass layoffs. He sacked half of the 7,500 employees all over the world. Later, he also terminated more than half of the contract workers working in countries like India. Then, the tables turned on November 17th, 2022, when many Twitter employees staged a mass resignation. The employees in the US were fortunate to get a severance pay “more than required”. The employees in Ghana did not get the minimum pay after the layoffs. Now, the employees are retaliating over severance pay discrimination.
Also Read: Elon Musk Twitter Takeover: Employees Are Suing The Platform For ‘Mass Layoffs’
Former Ghanian Employees Accused Twitter Of Silencing And Intimidating Them
When the employees in the USA were sacked during the mass layoffs on November 4th, 2022, they retaliated by filing a class action lawsuit against the company. Shannon Liss-Riordan filed the lawsuit on behalf of the employees. As per The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the employees did not get a notice 60 days prior.
Now, after two weeks, the fired employees in Ghana are retaliating and inculpating him for breaching the Ghana laws deliberately and trying to “silence and intimidate” them. They have hired a lawyer, who has sent a letter asking the company to cover the employees with relevant severance pay and other benefits to them.
The employees petitioned to the government to ask the company to provide them with “fair and just negotiation and redundancy pay”.
As CNN reported, four days after the office was opened in the capital city, Accra, they laid off all but one employee. The sacked employees did not receive any severance pay. Like the employees in the Europe and the USA, they are not aware of the future plan of action. Twitter sent a “Ghana Mutual Separation Agreement” which had the final offer for severance pay that the two parties negotiated.
Also Read: Why Is Elon Musk Pausing The Relaunch Of Twitter’s $8 Verification Plan?
The Lawyer And Employees Refuted To Have Any Negotiation With The Company
CNN reached the employees and the lawyer representing them and told the news portal that they never had any such negotiation. The reimbursement amount is below the severance pay. The employees in Ghana have assured payment till the last day of their working day i.e., December 4th, 2022.
One of the former employees said, “It was very vague, did not talk about outstanding leave or paid time off, and just asked us to sign if we agree. I never bothered to go back to the document because it is rubbish and is still in violation of labor laws here”. The employees are demanding to have three months of severance pay, continued healthcare benefits, reparation expenses of the non-Ghanian staff, and vesting of stock options provided in their contracts.
The attorney, Carla Olympio, said that there is a breach of laws committed. In a statement, Carla said, “In stark contrast to internal company assurances given to Twitter employees worldwide prior to the takeover, it seems that little attempt was made to comply with Ghana’s labor laws, and the protections enshrined therein for workers in circumstances where companies are undertaking mass layoffs due to a restructuring or reorganization”.
Also Read: Why Elon Musk Wants Other Countries To Be Like Israel?
