Telkom faces union scepticism

Unions are worried that negotiations with Telkom will not end well, and they have pre-emptively filed with the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to mediate discussions.

Solidarity, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and the SA Communications Union (Sacu) engaged with Telkom last week to resolve wage discrepancies that have been in dispute for several months.

"They keep saying they need to discuss it with the board and they will get back to us. They did this at the last negotiation meeting, and there was no response from the board then. We don't expect there to be one now," says Solidarity spokesman Jaco Kleynhans.

Telkom has asked the unions to reconvene the negotiations on 22 April, after the board has been consulted. Kleynhans says the unions feel Telkom's response is offensive. "They did not even revise their offer. This is why we have as a collective decided to lodge with the CCMA."

However, Solidarity says it remains open to discussions and will adhere to Telkom's request to keep negotiations open. CWU also supports the pre-emptive lodgement with the CCMA to ensure that the negotiation process progresses as smoothly as possible.

"The filing at the commission will be withdrawn if the company can meet our demands," says Richard Poulton, CWU member involved in the negotiation process. However, neither union is optimistic that Telkom will meet the demands.

Says Poulton: "It is unlikely that they will willingly meet our demand for 14.4% when they are essentially offering half that at 7.7%"

The unions are trying to balance current wages with several inflation rate increases and possible future increases members might receive. "We are looking at our members' daily living costs and need to factor in that the inflation rate may well go up again this year. Our economists have been working on the most reasonable figure and have come to CPIX plus 5%," says Kleynhans.

He says Telkom is offering an increase that rests below the inflation rate, which the unions have deemed as "unacceptable". Unions are also asking Telkom to revisit the company's gain sharing system (profit sharing).

Poultan says the current system is providing more to employees with top-level positions and less to those below. "The people on the top are usually white and the people at the bottom are black," he says.

CWU wants the gain sharing system to benefit all equally. "We want everyone, from the CEO to the basic worker, to get the same amount," he adds. The unions have also demanded that Telkom adjust the current medical aid subsidy.

CWU has said that the subsidy should shift alongside the inflation rate. "The minimum subsidy should be R1 200 per month and a maximum of two-thirds of the total medical aid package."

"Telkom confirms that this reopening of substantive negotiations has been triggered by the increase of the CPIX," says Nabintu Petsana, acting group executive for corporate communication at Telkom. "The reopening relates only to guaranteed salary increases, performance increases, gain sharing, medical aid contributions and standby allowances. It is not a total reopening of substantive negotiations."

She has confirmed that Telkom is maintaining negotiations with the unions and will meet them again within a fortnight.