Trade union Solidarity has declared a dispute with Telkom over the company's section 189 retrenchment process, after the telecoms group would not agree to retract more than 100 retrenchment letters.
Telkom sent retrenchment notices to 105 of its employees, which the union says could not be placed in alternative posts in the company. The group is currently restructuring, as it seeks to cut costs and streamline its operations.
In total, Telkom stated it would seek to cut about 2 500 managers over all three phases of this process, but many of these are expected to be placed in new positions once the process has been completed.
Solidarity spokesperson Marius Croucamp says the trade union advised Telkom to retract the retrenchment notices, sent to 16 Solidarity members, and to first finalise the appointments that have to be made following the previous round of job advertisements. The 105 employees in question also include 14 South African Communication Union members and nine Communication Workers Union members.
Croucamp says he spoke with Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko yesterday about having the retrenchment letters withdrawn, but adds the company is refusing to yield.
Solidarity says the approximately 676 employees affected by Telkom's section 189 retrenchment process have been placed in alternative posts within Telkom, while 302 management-level employees took voluntary severance packages. This number exceeds the company's stated target of 223 job cuts during this phase of restructuring.
'Complete the process'
"We have to understand what has happened here," says Croucamp. "The uptake of severance packages has exceeded Telkom's target, but it could be that some of the employees could not be matched to new positions. We can accept that, but we are urging Telkom to complete the entire process before deciding that certain staff members could not be rehired."
Croucamp explains the union would continue to engage with Telkom, and would urge the company to withdraw the retrenchment letters, even for the time being. "Perhaps we can convince Telkom not to take a hard line at this stage, and to withdraw the letters, even if it is for a few days."
In terms of the dispute, Croucamp says the union would consult with its legal team. "Should Telkom refuse to retract the notice, we will approach the Labour Court and indicate that Telkom is contravening section 189 of the Labour Relations Act."
Solidarity says it would make a decision by Thursday, but in the meantime would continue to have "an open channel of discussion" with Telkom.
Meanwhile, South African Communications Union (SACU) president Michael Hare has also called on Telkom to withdraw the retrenchment letters.
"Telkom needs to find these people new jobs - either in their previous positions, or under the new structure. Our first priority is to get these letters of retrenchment withdrawn," says Hare, adding the union is expecting feedback by Friday. Should Telkom fail to respond to SACU's concerns, Hare says the union would approach the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
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