Telkom`s latest move in its dispute with the Solidarity trade union must again be hailed as genius. Granted, Solidarity - that group of polite and benign Afrikaans gentlemen - is not exactly a force to be reckoned with, but it was still amusing to watch.
The union declared a disagreement in August, to oppose Telkom`s interpretation of the substantive collective agreement signed in April 2006. The contract guaranteed union members in Telkom`s employ an average salary increase of 6.5% for 2007.
Being the fierce and aggressive union organisation that it is, Solidarity ran to the CCMA, which would, hopefully, sort out the issue once and for all (you may recall, I earlier pointed out that white men can`t dance, hence any form of striking and toyi-toying is out of the question).
But was Telkom worried? No. Its representatives simply gave Solidarity and the CCMA the finger - saying they did not have a mandate from the executive committee to indicate if the dispute could be resolved on a financial level.
Game over. Thanks for playing. Better luck next time.
The CCMA gave Telkom until next week to obtain the mandate, or alternatively come up with its next poor excuse.
"We will just have to wait and see what they have decided," said a dejected Solidarity spokesman.
Yes, I guess you will matey!
The power of urban legends
Being the fierce and aggressive union organisation that it is, Solidarity ran to the CCMA.
Martin Czernowalow, news editor, ITWeb
IT and urban legend guru Arthur Goldstuck says that, while Eskom may not be very good at generating electricity, it has found itself a new niche - generating urban legends.
Goldstuck was reacting to the now widely-held belief that links mains-powered clocks losing time with possible frequency fluctuations in Eskom-provided power.
He is adamant that the whole issue smells of urban legend, because electronic clocks are notoriously poorly calibrated during the manufacturing process and computer clocks are no better.
Be that as it may, but when the company that punishes its customers for actually using its product does its notorious "load-shedding", my clocks certainly loses time. Poorly calibrated, or not.
So here`s a real urban legend: "SA will actually have adequate electrical capacity." You`re right, Mr Goldstuck, Eskom just spawns them...
The safest place in SA?
Some things boggle the mind - like Windows Vista, Jacob Zuma`s personal hygiene habits and Klerksdorp. Yes, that`s right, Klerksdorp.
This week, ITWeb reported (I`m not really sure why) that the North West Province`s Southern District Municipality will install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in Klerksdorp`s central business district in a bid to make the area safer.
I ask you: safer from what? How many people even know where Klerksdorp is, much less have any desire to rob it?
But someone seems to be rather serious about this. The municipality plans to spend R9.1 million on the CCTV cameras this year, up from R7.6 million last year. Next year`s budget stands at R10 million. That`s a lot of money.
And the project has already been extended to nearby Potchefstroom, with 12 cameras already in operation. Potch? I suppose this makes some sort of sense. Students, weed... a bit of paranoia...
Share