The Communication Workers Union, South African Communications Union and Solidarity today declared a dispute with Telkom over its restructuring.
Telkom intends to retrench 4 400 employees through voluntary severance packages and voluntary early retirement packages, and also transfer an additional 3 400 employees to external outsourced providers or via enterprise development. As talks have deadlocked, Telkom is now moving to a forced retrenchment process.
Spokesperson Jacqui O'Sullivan has explained the enterprise development option will see Telkom assist existing employees to develop their own new businesses. "These businesses, which will be owned and managed by former Telkom employees, would then be able to contract their services back to Telkom along with any other service providers in this growing and competitive industry."
After the restructuring, Telkom Wholesale will end up with an estimated 4 000 full time employees in the new separated wholesale business. Telkom is splitting its operations into three entities: retail, wholesale and infrastructure.
However, the unions argue they have not been involved in the restructuring process and now want Telkom to reconvene a restructuring forum where the issue can be discussed.
In a letter written to Telkom, the three labour organisations argue this would allow for information sharing and proper consultation.
The unions have given Telkom until the end of next Wednesday to accede to their demands, failing which they will "refer the matter for external adjudication".
Meanwhile, Telkom says it has undertaken a number of engagements with organised labour after alerting them, on 9 June, to its plans for functional restructuring. "Telkom has sought to collaborate with unions through the setting up of working groups, to explore additional potential options to mitigate the expected staff impact within the Telkom Wholesale business and other affected areas."
It adds: "Despite a number of meetings over the past two weeks, Telkom and the Communication Workers Union, Solidarity and South Africa Communications Union have been unable to reach agreement on a process to progress this critical next step in Telkom's multi-year turnaround programme." It notes organised labour declined its offer of opening up voluntary retrenchments and early retirement packages across the impacted areas of the business.
As a result, it says, engagements with the unions have been halted and Telkom will be approaching the Centre for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to facilitate further engagements. "The progression to the CCMA implies a formal, facilitated consultation process in accordance with the Labour Relations Act."
Telkom adds it will now be proceeding with issuing retrenchment notices for the areas affected.
"We are disappointed that all parties involved have not been able to make meaningful progress with the discussions. We had hoped to further interrogate the options we have put on the table, to mitigate the impact these changes will have on many of our people but with discussions stalled, we believe the involvement of the CCMA is the correct and necessary next step", said O'Sullivan.
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