Trade union Solidarity says that it is doing "everything in its power" to stop Telkom from retrenching any of its members at the company's Telkom Direct stores.
The union held further discussions with Telkom yesterday to find alternatives to retrenchments, after the operator announced in February that it aimed to close down some 20 of its 95 Telkom Direct stores nationwide.
According to Solidarity spokesperson Marius Croucamp, the union remains determined to save its members' jobs. "We believe there are sufficient alternatives for those affected by the process. We have urged Telkom to consider these alternatives before taking definite action in the form of a forced retrenchment process," Croucamp says.
Solidarity says that during the last consultation process, Telkom agreed to discuss several alternatives, including the offering of voluntary severance packages and placing employees in vacant positions. A task team has been appointed to discuss the latter.
Croucamp says Solidarity will carefully consider these and other proposals made by Telkom and will continue its discussions with the company in the hope of protecting its members against retrenchment.
Moreover, Solidarity will propose the formation of a task team to address the future of Telkom Direct stores, and the union will also make the necessary proposals to prevent future job losses at the company.
Meanwhile, the section 197 business transferral process, in terms of which certain business portfolios within the company are outsourced, has been finalised. "A total of 1 170 employees have been affected by the process, of which 724 accepted voluntary severance packages. The remaining 446 have been transferred to other companies. Their terms and conditions of employment will remain unchanged," Croucamp says.
He adds Solidarity managed to negotiate suitable severance packages on behalf of its members who preferred not to be transferred, as many of them were close to retirement.
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