Telkom needs to deal with its labour issues, or face a communications calamity during the Soccer World Cup, says Solidarity.
Just 99 days before kick off, the union claims Telkom staff members are unhappy. It says the company will “urgently have to tackle its labour relations problems in order to ensure the Soccer World Cup goes off without a hitch”.
Telkom employs about 23 520 people and is a key infrastructure provider to the games. The company has been given a total budget of R1.2 billion for access network infrastructure for the Soccer World Cup.
At the end of September last year, Telkom had spent R276 million on ICT infrastructure at the four stadiums used for the Confederations Cup. It has undertaken to complete the infrastructure at the remaining six stadiums and the international broadcasting centre. ICT infrastructure will be ready for testing in April.
Solidarity, which represents about 4 000 Telkom staff, has warned that workers are disgruntled. Spokesman Jaco Kleynhans says the current issue is in Data Advance Services (DAS), Telkom's largest unit - but dissatisfaction could migrate across the company.
However, Telkom says the games will go off without a hitch. Ajith Bridgraj, senior specialist for media relations, says: “As far as Telkom preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup are concerned, our plans remain firmly on track.”
He adds that the company has “already delivered a flawless Confederations Cup and is ready to do the same for the World Cup”.
Salary dispute
Kleynhans explains that the issue is around a salary discrepancy between staff in the DAS unit, which has about 1 400 workers, who are working on the Merlot project.
Employees of the DAS unit are dissatisfied because they are occasionally expected to provide services to the so-called Merlot clients, without being paid extra, he says.
“The Merlot project is the largest contract in Telkom, worth several billion rands, and Telkom is responsible for maintaining the centralised network on the project. South Africa's largest companies, including among others, Absa and Nedbank, are clients of this project,” says Kleynhans.
The Merlot project was established nearly two years ago and a handful of employees were chosen to work on the project. However, Solidarity says, staff working on the project earn much better salaries than most employees in the DAS unit.
In addition, employees of the project also receive a monthly retention bonus of R3 500. “Employees in the DAS unit are now demanding similar remuneration,” explains Kleynhans.
“Following several meetings with management about the matter, an agreement could not yet be reached and employees of all three trade unions in Telkom are now willing to take the matter further,” Kleynhans said.
Ripple effect
Solidarity is concerned the unhappiness in the unit could spread, and disrupt communications at the World Cup. “The unhappiness could spill over to the rest of Telkom; that's why it's important to solve this issue now,” says Kleynhans.
The DAS unit is responsible for, among other things, the maintenance of companies' switchboards and data transmission lines.
“If Telkom does not take urgent steps to resolve the issue, service delivery to several large companies, as well as service delivery that is essential for the success of the Soccer World Cup, will be in jeopardy,” Kleynhans warns.
South African Communications Union president Michael Hare comments that - while staff members are often disgruntled in mid-year, when they do not receive bonuses they may have been expecting - he does not think this will affect the games.
Hare does not believe Telkom will produce good results this year, and this will mean no bonuses, and unhappy workers. “People expect more and they get less.” The union represents about 5 000 Telkom staff.
Despite salary and bonus issues having previously led to strike action, Hare does not expect the World Cup to be disrupted.
Last year, the Communication Workers Union threatened to down tools at Telkom, because of a disagreement over salaries as it wanted the wage gap narrowed. The union subsequently held protests in several cities in SA.
Hare says the current dispute did result in some staff downing tools yesterday. “We had a meeting with them [Telkom] on Monday and yesterday, and they had promised to get back to us at 7am yesterday, which they didn't do. The employees congregated in Booysens and refused to work.”
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