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Twitter employees in Ghana cry foul over dismissals

Ghanaian staff argue Twitter has not complied with the west African nation’s labour laws and seek benefits offered to staff worldwide.

Almost the entire team at Twitter's Africa headquarters in Ghana have been sacked. They are among thousands more worldwide who have lost their jobs since billionaire Elon Musk took over the social messaging platform.

However, Twitter's Ghana-based staff are not going quietly and allege the company is in breach of local labour laws. They are demanding three months’ gross salary severance pay, repatriation expenses for non-Ghanaian staff, stock rewards they claim were included in their contracts, and other benefits such as continuing healthcare offered to Twitter staff in other countries.

The dispute has dragged in Ghana's government. It's all a far cry from the opening of Twitters office in Accra when, amid much fanfare, President Nana Akufo-Addo lauded "the beginning of a wonderful partnership, fundamental for the development of the technology sector".

The lawyer representing some of those fired in Ghana, Carla Olympio, says her clients are simply calling on the authorities to compel Twitter to comply with the laws of the country.

"It's not a lawsuit. There is a redundancy procedure under our labour law. What we have done is file a notice with [the] Labour Department... and contacted Twitter. And they have agreed to come to the table."

(Pic: A view of the global Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, US; Credit: EPA)

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