Telkom wage drama continues
Two out of three unions which have been at loggerheads with Telkom over a wage dispute have yet to sign with the telco, more than four months after negotiations began.
Telkom said on July 25, that it had signed a wage agreement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) that would increase its personnel costs by 6.8% over the next three years, affecting 16,800 out of approximately 21,000 Telkom employees.
Two other unions, Solidarity and the South African Communications Union (Sacu), however, have not yet put pen to paper.
Telkom said in a statement on Friday (26 July) that it was close to signing with Sacu.
However, in a post on its Facebook page the unions said: “Please be advised that Sacu did not sign any agreement with Telkom on the substantive negotiations, we are still busy negotiating with Telkom.”
Solidarity, meanwhile, Tweeted on Thursday: “We have been told by Telkom that they will not add to or change anything on the signed wage agreement. Thus non-negotiable.”
Negotiations between Telkom and unions began in March after Telkom announced that management and bargaining unit staff would be afforded the opportunity of applying for voluntary severance packages (VSPs) and early retirement packages (VERPs) until the end of August 2013.
The new remuneration model would mean that, in year one, 60% of employees will be getting increases on their total packages; in year two, it will be reduced to 40%; and year three, to less that 30%.
Solidarity spokesperson, Marius Croupcamp told BusinessTech: “We will not sign that agreement,” before conceding that Telkom would likely implement its wage terms unilaterally.
“We cannot agree to these terms in principal,” Croucamp said.
He said that Solidarity had balloted its members over strike action, adding that “they (the memebers) don’t want to strike,” Croucamp said.
Sacu said it was due to meet Telkom on Thursday (1 August) for further discussions.
It noted on Wednesday that, out of 3769 membership which includes just under 211 managers, 1,670 cast their ballot by close of business on Tuesday (30 July).
“Out the 1,670 members, 863 indicated we should not accept the company’s offer and 807 indicated we should. As can be seen from the above figures, no outright majority exists. This in itself put us in a predicament which caused us to seek guidance from the Sacu constitution which stipulated that the majority should be determined from the amount of ballots cast.
“45% of members participated. Of the 45% that participated, 52% indicated NO to company’s position and 48% indicated YES, we should sign. In terms of the Sacu constitution an outright majority would be 66% of our membership that participated.”
| Membership breakdown | As at 31 March 2013 | As at 30 June 2013 | ||||
| Trade Union | Number of Employees | Unionised employees % | Overall % | Number of Employees | Unionised employees % | Overall % |
| CWU | 7,151 | 51.65% | 38.56% | 6,653 | 52.25% | 39.06% |
| SACU | 3,815 | 27.55% | 20.57% | 3,495 | 27.45% | 20.52% |
| Solidarity | 2,878 | 20.79% | 15.52% | 2,586 | 20.30% | 15.18% |
| Non-Unionised | 4,701 | 0% | 25.35% | 4,297 | 0% | 25.23% |
| Total | 18,545 | 100% | 100% | 17,031 | 100% | 100% |
The tables reflect union membership as at 31 March 2013, when the negotiations began, and again at 30 June 2013, the latest figures available.
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