Unions ‘win round one against Telkom’
The offer could result in the lowest-paid employees receiving bonuses of R10000 each, provided the unions suspend their protest action and enter into further negotiations with the company.
The unions — the Communications Workers Union (CWU) and Solidarity — are demanding that all Telkom employees, including management, receive an equal bonus payment of R50 000. They want an 8,5% wage increase for the lowest paid employees and 7,5% for employees in supervisory positions. Telkom offered 6,2%. The employees wage bill cost Telkom R8,1bn in the 2004-05 financial year.
Solidarity deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann welcomed the reinstatement of the revised offer, saying it was a positive step towards “proper negotiations”.
“Telkom’s amended offer is a step in the right direction, but the scheme can be improved even further,” said Hermann.
Telkom had initially withdrawn the revised offer after the unions embarked on a two-day national strike this week. The dual-listed company had made the better than-expected offer on condition that the unions abandoned the strike action.
The unions said, however, the revised offer came late on Friday, and they could not inform all their 15 000 members about it ion time to call off the strike.
Telkom was forced to reinstate the offer for the protesting unions to consider because the third recognised trade union, the South African Communications Union, had already signed and accepted it.
The trade unions then threatened to apply for an urgent interdict to stop Telkom from discriminating against them.
They gave the company until 4pm yesterday to change its position or face legal action.
Telkom then extended an olive branch to the unions by reinstating the revised offer, saying it was “because of its commitment towards employees”, the company said in an internal memo.
The company said the reinstatement was “conditional to concluding a collective agreement on substantive matters by Wednesday” next week.
Telkom said its revised offer would see the lowest-paid workers receive a 400% increase on their bonus payments compared to its initial offer of 69%.
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