Government intervention has scuppered Telkom’s plans to rush through a restructuring programme, which would have seen its core business outsourced.
The decision to suspend the restructuring process comes very late in the day as Telkom was already considering proposals from vendors.
The Communication Workers’ Union’s national treasurer, Richard Poulton, told the Mail & Guardian that the Department of Communications (DOC) called Telkom to insist that it engages with the unions, which had declared a dispute over the restructuring programme.
”Government facilitated the talks,” said Poulton. ”They called Telkom and they called us and told us to rectify this matter.”
One Telkom insider said the call may have come from Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, but the ministry denied this and told the M&G to contact the DOC.
Telkom refused to comment on the DOC’s intervention, stating that its relationship with government is ”privileged”.
The M&G understands that the restructuring programme, which Telkom has dubbed its ”capability management project”, has been hotly contested and that a complaint about the programme was lodged with the JSE.
The JSE’s Doug Doel told the M&G that it had received a complaint and as a result had sent Telkom a query.
Telkom said it had clarified issues with the JSE and had pointed out that it was not in contravention of the listings requirements.
Doel said the JSE was satisfied with Telkom’s response.
Telkom is looking to outsource a substantial amount of its core business, including its network operations, information operations and Telkom Direct shops.
Poulton said the proposed deal would affect about 70% of Telkom’s staff, which number about 25 000.
Poulton said the restructuring process will proceed only in April 2009, when the unions have had a chance to present a counter proposal.
”We are not saying there shouldn’t be any restructuring, but it doesn’t have to take the form of outsourcing. That is our problem — the outsourcing.”
Poulton said the restructuring process is likely to begin only in the second half of 2009, after negotiations have been concluded.
Telkom said in its statement the decision to defer implementation of the capability management project until April 2009 has been agreed upon by the unions and itself and that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the unions.
Attempts to contact the DOC for comment were unsuccessful.