The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) is no longer boycotting cellphone operator Vodacom because it would be a “difficult campaign to sustain”.<\/p>\n
“The meeting discussed a proposal to launch a consumer boycott of Vodacom but decided not to do so,” said Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi on Thursday following a central executive committee meeting.<\/p>\n
“Legal contracts signed by consumers including unions make this a difficult campaign to sustain,” he added.<\/p>\n
Cosatu considered boycotting Vodacom to protest against its listing and the sale of R22,5bn worth of Telkom shares in Vodacom to the British company Vodafone.<\/p>\n
Cosatu last month lost a last-minute court bid to prevent Vodacom’s listing on the JSE.<\/p>\n
“The CEO of Vodacom has since requested a meeting with Cosatu to discuss our concerns,” said Vavi.<\/p>\n
“We want to express our concerns… will Vodacom still have a drive to roll out efficient communications to our people? We want to understand in greater details the impact of the split.”<\/p>\n
He also said Cosatu wanted to meet the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) to find out if it was still going to hold hearings into the Vodacom listing.<\/p>\n
Icasa said, shortly before the listing, it would hold public hearings in June.<\/p>\n
“Is Icasa going ahead with the public hearings? What will be the purpose?” asked Vavi.<\/p>\n
He also lamented the “poor service” by Telkom and slow and expensive broadband in South Africa.<\/p>\n