Pretoria - Tempers flared as 480 Telkom contract employees were unceremoniously escorted out of the parastatal’s Pretoria offices on Friday morning.
The workers alleged they were not notified of the termination of their contracts and were simply called in to a meeting surrounded by security guards and told to leave the premises.
One employee, who asked not to be named, said the management team told them they had received threats and then took their access cards away.
“We thought it was strange that we were called in for a meeting and had to have about 20 security guards waiting around us. The very same people who boasted about job creation for the youth have now turned around and fired us,” said the former employee.
“They used R4 million to renovate a gym and the Centurion building but they choose to terminate our contracts.
“This hurts, especially because they made us train other workers who have been given jobs through an outsourcing centre,” he said.
The secretary-general of the Communication Workers Union, Aubrey Tshabalala, said no one was notified of the abrupt termination of workers’ contracts.
“Workers were shocked as they were removed from the premises like common criminals,” said Tshabalala.
“Telkom have secretly and without proper consultation hired other workers in outsourced control centres,” he said.
Telkom managing executive of group communication Jacqui O’Sullivan said there had been no termination of employment and that the parastatal had chosen not to renew the contracts.
O’Sullivan said the management had received numerous threats via e-mail, and property was vandalised or stolen at facilities in Centurion since letting it be known that some contracts would not be renewed.
Pretoria News