Telkom locks out strikers after bonus offer rejected
Until the dispute between the two parties was resolved, the principle of no work, no pay would also apply for the duration of the lock out, Telkom said.
Telkom said in a statement that members of CWU “are not being allowed to work”.
Telkom’s reaction to the CWU has signalled a hardening of attitudes that may take longer to resolve, especially since other unions, Solidarity and South African Communication Union, have accepted Telkom’s offer.
The dual-listed company said no leave would be approved for the duration of the lock out “due to dire operational requirements” and that no picketing or protest action would be allowed on its premises.
The decision will also affect CWU members about to resume duties after sick leave or holidays.
The dispute centres on the sharing of profits. Telkom offers the lowest paid employees a bonus of R10000 each while CWU wants R50000 for each employee.
The union said each employee, from technicians to senior executives, should get an equal share of the profits made. Last year, Telkom posted a net profit of R6,8bn and paid its executive directors a combined total of R33,5m.
Former Telkom CEO Sizwe Nxasana received a bonus payment of R3,6m, bringing his total package for the year to R6,9m.
Joe Chauke, CWU president, said the trade union demanded an end to this trend and that wage increases for the lowest paid employees should be 8,5%, and 7,5% for those in supervisory positions. Telkom was offering 6,2%, he said.
Telkom says its revised offer will see the lowest paid workers receive a 400% increase in their bonus payments, compared with its initial offer of 69% and, later, 256%.
“In addition, on the issue of grade compression, employees who meet or exceed their performance targets will receive an additional fixed amount to their basic salaries if their annual salaries fall below a specified threshold,” said Telkom human resources executive Charlotte Mokoena in a statement.
However, Telkom and CWU yesterday reached a settlement agreement at the Labour Court, where Telkom made an undertaking to withdraw an internal memo that sought to entice some of the striking workers to abandon the strike.
Addressed to all line managers, the memo read: “If CWU member provides a copy of the resignation (from the union) to the line manager, the line manager may permit the employee (ex-CWU member) to commence duty.”
Telkom and CWU signed a joint affidavit that the phrase be withdrawn from Telkom’s contingency plan to deal with the strike.
Meanwhile, Telkom said it experienced network failures in Kwa- Zulu-Natal and Eastern Cape that also affected all fixed-line and mobile communication into Botswana.
Telkom chief technical officer Thami Msimango said the network was restored by lunch time and that investigations were under way to determine the cause of the problem.
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