Trade union Solidarity said on 30 April that it is doing everything in its power to prevent Telkom from retrenching any of its members at the company\u2019s Telkom Direct stores.<\/p>\n
According to the union, Telkom has agreed to investigate suggested alternatives to retrenchments, such as\u00a0offering voluntary severance packages and placing employees in vacant positions.<\/p>\n
A task team has been appointed to discuss the latter, said Solidarity.<\/span><\/p>\n Telkom announced in February 2015 that it aimed to close 20 of its 95 Telkom Direct stores nationwide.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe there are sufficient alternatives for those affected by the process,” said Marius Croucamp, head of Solidarity\u2019s Communications Industry.<\/p>\n “We have urged Telkom to consider these alternatives before taking definite action in the form of a forced retrenchment process.\u201d<\/p>\n Croucamp said Solidarity will consider proposals made by Telkom and will continue its discussions with the company in the hope of protecting its members from\u00a0retrenchment.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the section 197 business transferal process, in terms of which certain business portfolios within the company is outsourced, has been finalised, said Solidarity.<\/p>\n A total of 1,170 employees have been affected by the process, of which 724 accepted voluntary severance packages. The remaining 446 have been transferred to other companies.<\/p>\n “Their terms and conditions of employment will remain unchanged,\u201d said Croucamp.<\/p>\n In a trading statement issued on 29 April, Telkom reported that the ongoing retrenchment processes at the group cost the company around R591 million in the last financial year.<\/p>\n The group said it has focused on restructuring its cost base and imposed \u201cefficiency interventions\u201d to achieve profit growth in its core business.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough we managed to further improve on cost efficiencies in certain areas, we experienced delays in the implementation of other initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n The delayed initiatives include the workforce reduction initiative and the renegotiation of certain key contracts, it said.<\/p>\n SA mobile subscribers: Vodacom vs MTN vs Cell C vs Telkom<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Why Telkom is increasing line rental prices<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on Telkom<\/h3>\n