Telkom denies major lay-offs

Johannesburg, 28 May 2008

Telkom has slammed the Solidarity trade union for expressing fears of a major lay-off, and accused the union of issuing alarmist statements.

In a media statement, Solidarity criticises the utility's plans to realign the company, saying the plan would result in more than 90% of the company's functions being outsourced. This plan would affect more than 19 000 Telkom employees and the fixed-line operator's customer base, the union adds.

Solidarity says it also opposes Telkom's proposal to make a decision on the strategy by August this year, as has been proposed by the fixed line operator. "A decision of this magnitude cannot be taken in a hurry and all possible pros and cons will have to be weighed to safeguard the interests of employees and clients," says Solidarity spokesman Jaco Kleynhans.

There is no room for a bad decision and the process must be carefully scrutinised and regulated, he explains.

Improving competitiveness

While Telkom would not provide details about the strategy or information as to the real impact it expects from the exercise if the capability management strategy was implemented, says Telkom chief of HR Charlotte Mokoena. She does, however, dispute that the exercise would result in massive job losses.

"Intrinsic to this process, Telkom seeks to secure sustainable employability of its employees," says Mokoena. Solidarity has incorrectly cited outsourcing as the primary consideration of the capability management strategy that Telkom is implementing, she adds.

The process aims to provide Telkom with new ways of improving business for the benefit of its customers, Mokoena explains.

"Capability management is not about employees per se, but about responding to a rapidly changing ICT business landscape - that is the converged environment - to become more competitive."

Mokoena also expressed disappointment that Solidarity has chosen to go public with an issue, when Telkom and the trade unions had an agreement to conduct joint communication on the matter. The Communications Workers Union and the South African Communications Union did not comment at the time of publication.

Intensive investigation

Solidarity says it has given Telkom strict conditions to adhere to if it decides to outsource its functions. It has also decided to conduct a comprehensive investigation into Telkom's planned restructuring to ensure that the rights of workers are not compromised.

The union will actively work to halt the process if the investigation shows that the restructuring may have negative effects on the telecoms sector or there is a chance that it would result in job losses, says Kleynhans.

"Solidarity has appointed an investigating team, including telecommunication experts, to consider all aspects of the matter," he says. The trade union will submit the findings to its members and the Independent Communications Authority of SA, he says.