Media Statement
Solidarity
29 March 2006
Trade unions take Telkom to court
The trade unions Solidarity and the Communication Workers Union are to serve Telkom with court papers today and will take on the communications giant in court tomorrow. This comes after Telkom indicated, in a letter to employees, that the company intends in future to offer an improved profit share only to those employees who had not taken part in the strike.
In a letter to Telkom, the trade unions gave the company until 16:00 today to withdraw its plan to implement the improved profit share scheme for non-striking employees only. If Telkom fails to heed this notice, court documents will be served on Telkom at 16:00 and the trade unions will go to court tomorrow to ask for an urgent interdict against the company. The trade unions also said that Telkom’s latest decision compels them to carry on with the strike.
Solidarity appealed to Telkom to stop playing political games and to return to negotiations so that a solution to the dispute can be found.
“Telkom’s plans are illegal and we have taken legal advice that indicates that our application for an interdict against the company is likely to be successful. Telkom not only received poor legal advice, but also bad labour relations advice. The company’s actions are eroding its employee relations even further. At the conclusion of the strike Telkom will not only have to implement a new profit share model, but it will also face the challenge of regaining the trust of its workers,” Jaco Kleynhans, spokesperson of Solidarity said.
“The reality is that Telkom’s current profit share scheme is not in line with best practice in South Africa and the rest of the world. We have seldom before seen a company defend the indefensible with such bravado. Comparisons with other companies and the intentions of the King Report on corporate governance show that Telkom’s profit share scheme is deficient. Even if a settlement were to be reached, we propose that a commission be appointed to compare Telkom’s scheme with those of other South African companies. A better profit share will motivate and retain employees. The current scheme demotivates employees and renders them disloyal,” he concluded.
Solidarity
29 March 2006
Trade unions take Telkom to court
The trade unions Solidarity and the Communication Workers Union are to serve Telkom with court papers today and will take on the communications giant in court tomorrow. This comes after Telkom indicated, in a letter to employees, that the company intends in future to offer an improved profit share only to those employees who had not taken part in the strike.
In a letter to Telkom, the trade unions gave the company until 16:00 today to withdraw its plan to implement the improved profit share scheme for non-striking employees only. If Telkom fails to heed this notice, court documents will be served on Telkom at 16:00 and the trade unions will go to court tomorrow to ask for an urgent interdict against the company. The trade unions also said that Telkom’s latest decision compels them to carry on with the strike.
Solidarity appealed to Telkom to stop playing political games and to return to negotiations so that a solution to the dispute can be found.
“Telkom’s plans are illegal and we have taken legal advice that indicates that our application for an interdict against the company is likely to be successful. Telkom not only received poor legal advice, but also bad labour relations advice. The company’s actions are eroding its employee relations even further. At the conclusion of the strike Telkom will not only have to implement a new profit share model, but it will also face the challenge of regaining the trust of its workers,” Jaco Kleynhans, spokesperson of Solidarity said.
“The reality is that Telkom’s current profit share scheme is not in line with best practice in South Africa and the rest of the world. We have seldom before seen a company defend the indefensible with such bravado. Comparisons with other companies and the intentions of the King Report on corporate governance show that Telkom’s profit share scheme is deficient. Even if a settlement were to be reached, we propose that a commission be appointed to compare Telkom’s scheme with those of other South African companies. A better profit share will motivate and retain employees. The current scheme demotivates employees and renders them disloyal,” he concluded.
