Johannesburg - Talks between Telkom and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are set to resume on Monday as a strike over wages enters its fourth week.
The parties have been in a protracted dispute over a wage hike, and some members have downed tools. Last week Monday, Telkom secured an urgent interim court order interdicting and restraining the union and its members from a number of illegal activities associated with the union’s current strike.
This comes as Telkom earlier on Monday last week said its workers who attempted to go to work today in the midst of the strike were “aggressively intimidated”.
Telkom currently employs 12 500 people, of which about 11 000 are unionised.
The CWU - the majority union at Telkom - wants an 11 percent increase across the board, a three-year moratorium on retrenchments, an end to outsourcing and six months paid maternity leave. Inflation is currently 6.3 percent.
Read also: Strike: Telkom secures court order
The other recognised unions at Telkom, Solidarity and the South African Communication Workers Union, have already signed a deal with the telecommunications giant which has been labelled as “fair”.
It includes no forced retrenchments for the next two years, that outsourcing is limited to 1 000 employees over the next two years, as well as the introduction of performance-based pay and a 6% salary increase next April.
Issues between Telkom and the CWU have been ongoing for years. The union has been outspoken against the company’s restructuring policies which has seen it go through retrenchment and outsourcing processes as it seeks to cut costs and make the company more competitive as fixed-line penetration continues to slump.
LABOUR BUREAU