Johannesburg, 24 Apr 2006
South African fixed-line utility Telkom and the Communications Workers Union (CWU) resumed talks at the weekend to try to resolve a deadlock by union members over the company`s wage offer and profit-sharing scheme.
Telkom spokesman Ajith Bridgraj says talks will continue this afternoon, but would not comment on the details of the negotiations. At this stage, it is unclear whether Telkom has bowed to pressure from the CWU and is willing to revise its offer.
Last week, the company locked out striking workers, following a two-day strike by the CWU. Earlier, the parties had deadlocked after the CWU rejected Telkom`s revised wage offer.
At that time, Telkom said it would not enter into any further discussions with the union, and withdrew its revised offer, reverting to an earlier offer that was accepted by Solidarity and the South African Communications Union.
Meanwhile, Tellkom is in the process of investigating incidents of vandalism carried out against its infrastructure last week in various parts of the country, Bridgraj states.
Slow response
On Friday, Telkom reported damage to three cables between the Germiston and New Doornfontein areas on Gauteng`s East Rand.
The incident caused slow responses and network congestion between the directly affected areas, as well as between Germiston and the rest of the country.
Last Tuesday, two cables - one in Ladysmith, in KwaZulu-Natal, and the other in Mthatha, Eastern Cape - were also damaged.
Telkom also reported vandalism to at least 65 street distribution cabinets, which are points of connection usually located on street corners to enable a service to customers, in various parts of the country. Forty-six of these cases occurred in KwaZulu-Natal.
"All the problems have now been resolved and our services are up and running," Bridgraj said this morning.
While Telkom has been loath to officially link the vandalism and the strike, speculation has been mounting that the striking workers may have been responsible for the damage.
Deliberate effort
"The nature of the damage - all three cables were cut - indicates this is a deliberate effort at wilfully disrupting our services to customers," says Theo Hess, managing executive for network centre operations.
"We have reported the vandalism to the South African Police Service. At this stage, we are uncertain who was behind these acts of vandalism, but a thorough investigation - both through our internal structures as well as through the SAPS - is under way," states Hess.
Bridgraj would not comment on which police division is investigating the alleged sabotage, but indications are that the probe will be carried out at national level.
CWU head of communications Mfanafuthi Sithebe last week rubbished allegations that union members may have been responsible for the damage, saying union members have no mandate to damage Telkom`s infrastructure.
He also stressed that union members are highly disciplined and the CWU views Telkom`s infrastructure as a national asset.
Sithebe was not available this morning to comment on the renewed talks with Telkom.
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