Vodacom has denied last week's claims by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) that the company refuses to recognise it as an official union.
The union is taking the cellular operator to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). It alleges Vodacom refuses to recognise it as a representative labour organisation, despite having a membership of over 30% of the company's employees.
Last week, CWU spokesman Mfanafuthi Sithebe claimed Vodacom has a workforce of 2 500, of which 754 members are signed up and another 150 are waiting to be processed.
However, Vodacom says it has about 4 370 employees at its South African operations, giving the union only 9% membership, which does not qualify the CWU to enter into negotiations about a recognition agreement. Vodacom is also unaware of the 150 employees who are "waiting to be processed".
"Any Vodacom employee can choose to join or not to join any union," says Vodacom chief communications officer Dot Field.
Field adds the company has a committee in place to resolve these types of issues and this committee's constitution does not stop any employee from joining another union.
"[Vodacom] has stop-order facilities for CWU in place and we transfer these funds on a monthly basis to the applicable unions," says Field. She says these stop orders are logged through the company's payroll system and unions can point out any discrepancies they can prove.
The CCMA will hear the CWU's complaint on Thursday. The union says members intend to picket outside the CCMA on the first day of the hearing.
Field says Vodacom will consider the picket unauthorised, unless participating workers apply for leave. She notes that the picket action will not have a serious impact on business.
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