Telkom's turnaround strategy has deteriorated into a war of words with the company trading blows with trade union Solidarity on a number of issues, including looming job cuts, wage negotiations and outsourcing.
As the showdown unfolds, yesterday trade union Solidarity accused Telkom of "waging a war against its own employees". However, responding to ITWeb questions this morning, the former fixed-line monopoly rubbished the allegations, asserting it is "not trying to make life difficult for the unions".
Over the past two years, Telkom has been involved in a turnaround strategy which has seen some employees either being retrenched or transferred to outsourcing companies. The turnaround strategy has since been marred by accusations and counter-accusations between the warring parties.
'Unfair' tactics
Solidarity accuses Telkom, among other things, of leaving no room for proper consultation about its current retrenchment process with trade unions. Moreover, the way in which Telkom is dealing with this year's wage negotiations is not fair in the least, the trade union alleged.
"At the moment, four different labour processes are under way at Telkom, namely a section 189 retrenchment process, wage negotiations, two section 197 business transfer processes, and a process concerning voluntary severance packages which started on Friday," says Marius Croucamp, deputy general secretary for the communications industry at Solidarity.
"If Telkom gets its way, each of these processes holds negative consequences for employees," he points out.
Croucamp says Telkom is trying its best to undermine trade unions by, among other things, enforcing four processes simultaneously and failing to provide unions with sufficient information.
"Telkom is clearly trying its best to make life difficult for trade unions. Delegates of the various trade unions have to stretch themselves to be able to attend all the meetings about the various processes. Telkom is exploiting the situation," Croucamp says.
He adds Solidarity is already in the process of obtaining legal advice should Telkom continue to enforce the four processes without the necessary consultation.
Critical journey
Jacqui O'Sullivan, managing executive for group communication at Telkom, argues there are 19 union shop stewards, fully paid for by Telkom, of which five are Solidarity shop stewards.
"If the unions chose to self-organise and prioritise their resources, they would have ample capacity to manage the ongoing processes," she points out.
"The Telkom turnaround has made significant progress but we need to complete the last phase of this critical journey. Importantly, the completion of this multi-year turnaround strategy will allow the company to move out of an environment of restructuring and change. We are not trying to make life difficult for the unions; we are working to stabilise the business to one that will ensure the long-term and sustainable growth of the company," O'Sullivan says.
Regarding the wage negotiations impasse, Solidarity says in its opening offer during this year's wage talks, Telkom proposed no increase in terms of fixed earnings. This means employees' salary increases will be linked to their performance, it adds.
"We believe the latter is unfair because in terms of an agreement between trade unions and Telkom, workers should receive a salary increase on 1 April this year. Therefore, it is also not clear whether the employees' increase will be linked to last year's performance. If that is the case, employees were unaware of this arrangement and could, therefore, not adjust their performance accordingly," Croucamp says.
In addition, Solidarity claims Telkom postponed this year's negotiations for several months. In terms of its recognition agreement with Telkom, Solidarity declared a dispute with Telkom in this regard last month.
O'Sullivan counters, saying Telkom is not saying salary increases will be linked to performance for FY17.
According to O'Sullivan, research has shown Telkom's existing wage structures are well above market for similar skills.
"As a consequence, increasing our fixed wage structures is not affordable. However, variable incentives will be increased for good performers, particularly in the front-line of our business, in return for improved performance and productivity. Assuming an employee is able to meet their agreed-upon targets and that Telkom performs more strongly next year than last year, the employee can expect to earn significantly more next year than the previous year."
'Irrational retrenchment'
Concerning the Section 189 retrenchment process, Croucamp says it appears Telkom does not want to consult properly with trade unions about the company's retrenchment process which affects 300 employees, and that it wants to rush it through.
"Telkom's actions are unfair in the sense that the company's timeframe within which it wants to conclude the process does not correspond with that of the trade unions. We have only one goal in mind and that is to protect the work of our members. To do that, we need all the relevant information and there has to be sufficient consultation with Telkom about the process," Croucamp says.
Meanwhile, the trade union alleges Telkom has already started to finalise three new operating models which are believed to be the rationale for the retrenchment process. Telkom is, however, refusing to disclose information about this to trade unions, it claims.
"It is clear Telkom wants to impose an irrational retrenchment process at all cost without consulting with trade unions in a proper way about the rationale of the process. This comes while the negative effects of Telkom's previous retrenchment processes are already being felt and the company now has to hire contract employees to do the work of those who have been retrenched previously," Croucamp notes.
However, Telkom's O'Sullivan says the timelines for the Section 189 retrenchment process are not dictated by Telkom, but rather by the CCMA, as defined by the Labour Relations Act. She points out Telkom is complying with the CCMA processes and the dates which the CCMA sets down.
According to O'Sullivan, Telkom has supplied the unions with more than 200 pages of confidential detailed information, specifically focusing on this restructure. "However, due to the deliberate timewasting and delaying tactics of organised labour, we have not been able to consult in a meaningful joint consensus-seeking process on the content.
"We have not been given the opportunity to present this information, despite having undertaken two full-day CCMA facilitated sessions. This also means we have not been able to answer questions on the content, nor have we been able to share the detailed organisational structures, contained in this information, with our Telkom employees. These delays are at the heart of our frustration."
'Emotional trauma'
Solidarity is also complaining that as was the case last year, Telkom made voluntary severance packages available to employees on Friday without consulting with the unions on this issue in any way.
"Telkom is exploiting the fact that employees are now vulnerable and uncertain about their future at the company. It is a fact that no one can take well-considered, rational decisions about their future when they are emotionally traumatised," Croucamp says.
On the issue, O'Sullivan says Telkom continues to work in the best interest of its employees. "Our people have been through a demanding restructuring period and are anxious to complete this journey.
"A number of Telkom employees have approached both the company and their unions, in recent weeks, requesting the opportunity to consider a voluntary severance package or voluntary early retirement package option, as an alternative to retrenchment. We have listened to our people and we have acted and have made these available, ahead of the current spate of holidays, to give employees sufficient time to consider their options. We will continue to act in the best interest of our people and would hope the unions could follow suit."
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