The Communication Workers' Union (CWU), which styles itself as the "largest and most organised, militant and progressive trade union" in the local ICT space, is set to go out on strike against Telkom.
The "militant red trade union" yesterday lambasted Telkom over the way the telco is handling its restructuring process. Telkom this week told its 18 500 staff members it would again implement a "turnaround strategy" to "unlock efficiencies". This comes after it retrenched over 300 managers and 480 call centre staff last year, and 1 800 employees voluntarily parted ways with the company a few years ago.
This time, the firm's restructuring will see about 20 Telkom Direct stores closed, which could affect about 100 staff. Its call centre operation, warehousing and legacy IT systems will be moved to an outsourced provider, although it is not clear how many staff will be transferred. Telkom notes job losses will be minimised, and are a last resort.
CWU, which opposes Telkom's move, says it will "do and use anything at our disposal, including but not limited to unleashing the organised might of our members - (the workers) through rolling mass action to register our dissatisfaction and force the hand of an irresponsible, inconsiderate and intransigent Telkom management". Some 51% of employees in the bargaining council are CWU members.
The union has set next Wednesday as the start of its rolling mass action. It also wants Telkom to withdraw the retrenchment letters. It has called on Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko "to stop treating us with contempt and show some respect if he perhaps expects some semblance of respect from organised labour".
Telkom's retrenchments, says the CWU, run counter to its employment equity policy and the law. It says Telkom's actions are a "brute inhuman intention" to "throw into the streets thousands of workers at a time when millions of South Africans are reeling from the worst socio-economic conditions as a result of the current local and global financial meltdown".
Jacqui O' Sullivan, Telkom spokesperson, notes the company has engaged throughout the organisation, as well as with organised labour, to highlight the pressures Telkom is facing. She notes "the reality is that Telkom's turnaround is necessary to secure the future commercial sustainability of the business".
O' Sullivan notes Telkom informed unions about its current process and then communicated this to staff. She says Telkom will not withdraw retrenchment letters and a formal consultation process will start tomorrow.
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