Johannesburg - Telkom’s rash approval of voluntary severance packages and early retirement packages will lead to a massive skills shortage in the company, according to the trade union Solidarity.
Telkom announced in a letter this week that it had approved the applications of 1 189 employees for voluntary severance packages.
Read: Unions vow to fight Telkom
Between March 18 and March 3 , a total of 1 629 employees applied for voluntary severance packages. Seventy-three percent of these, or 1 189, have been approved.
According to Marius Croucamp, Deputy General Secretary of the Communication Industry at Solidarity, it is clear that Telkom is in a hurry to get rid of a large number of employees.
“We maintain that Telkom is abusing the fact that its employees are currently vulnerable and feeling uncertain about their future at the company. The result will be the loss of thousands of highly skilled employees with years of experience in the industry. In addition, the company’s service delivery levels will suffer,” Croucamp said.
For the 10th consecutive year, Telkom is undergoing restructuring affecting thousands of employees.
During this period, Telkom’s workforce has shrunk from 23 245 to 13 895.
IOL