Comms dept intervenes in Vodacom dispute

Johannesburg, 12 Apr 2007

The Department of Communications has agreed to appoint a team of forensic auditors to assess the exact numbers of Communication Workers Union (CWU) members at Vodacom, says Mfanafuthi Sithebe, head of communications at the CWU.

This follows last month's strike action by the union, in response to a dispute in which the CWU accused the mobile provider of refusing to recognise it as a representative labour organisation within the company and of denying it its "organisational rights".

"The department's involvement is largely to help resolve the issue between Vodacom and CWU and break the impasse," says department spokesman Albi Modise.

The union alleges Vodacom refuses to recognise it as a representative labour organisation, despite having a membership of over 30% of the company's employees.

However, Vodacom said in a media statement that the CWU has representation of less than 10% and not the agreed threshold of 30%, which would qualify it to enter into a collective agreement.

"The department has appointed auditors to assess the exact representation figure that the union has within the company," says Sithebe.

Modise says the department's action is about recognition of an institution that should be seen to protect the rights of workers and to make sure the relationship between the two institutions is not strained.