An agreement was formally concluded between Telkom and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) earlier on Wednesday, ending the industrial dispute between the two parties with immediate effect.
Members of CWU had been engaged in industrial action since April 18 and the company exercised its rights in law — Section 64(1)(c) of the LRA — by responding with a lockout of bargaining unit CWU members.
Group executive for human resources, Charlotte Mokoena, expressed relief at the signing of the agreement.
“The interests and welfare of all Telkom employees is of paramount interest to the company and we’re relieved that our entire workforce will now be able to resume their duties as from today.”
She added that the key adjustment to the Telkom offer of April 5 related to the implementation of the compression of grades. Lowest paid employees will move from lower to higher salary levels at an accelerated pace.
Mokoena said that Telkom’s extensive contingency measures during the period of the industrial action has helped to contain negative impact on service delivery.
“Almost 60% of our employees in the bargaining unit did not participate in the latest industrial action.” ‒ I-Net Bridge