Telkom workers 'angry'

By Nicola Mawson for Telkom

Johannesburg, 04 Aug 2009

Hundreds of Telkom workers are set to march on the telecommunication company's head office today to hand over a memorandum detailing their grievances, says the union.

At the centre of the dispute, which has been dragging on for over a year, is a bid by the union to narrow the wage gap, says Communication Workers Union (CWU) secretary general Gallant Roberts.

He says the meeting between the union and Telkom, held at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration yesterday, had not resolved the issue.

“There is progress, to the negative,” Roberts says. He claims Telkom had initially put R78 million on the table to narrow wage gaps and elevate workers to a higher salary band. This has now been reduced to R68 million, Roberts says.

Had the gap been narrowed to the union's satisfaction, Telkom's wage offer of 7.5% would have translated into an effective 12% increase. The union has claimed the initial offer was subsequently not approved at board level, and never implemented.

Intensified action

Roberts says, as a result of no agreement being reached, the full-blown strike may be extended to other provinces before 11 August, the initial strike date. “Members in the other provinces are gearing up [to strike],” he adds.

Yesterday, thousands of Telkom workers in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and Mpumalanga downed tools, disrupting services.

The stay-away action is expected to continue in these four provinces, even as talks continue.

Meshack Dlamini, Telkom's executive for employee relations, says the company “has contingency measures in place to minimise the potential effect of industrial action”. Talks are ongoing, he notes.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions says it supports CWU members who are on strike.

National spokesman Patrick Craven urges the federation's members to join a national march by Telkom staff set for 11 August, should an agreement not be reached by then. “The federation sends its solidarity to these workers,” he says.