Wage talks between Telkom and the South African Communications Union (Sacu) have deadlocked, the union said on Wednesday.
This was after the company proposed a 7,7% average increase to all operational employees on Friday during wage talks, Sacu said in a statement.
It said Telkom had earlier cited cable theft as a reason they could not give their employees a larger increase, yet they had disbanded the unit dealing with the issue and outsourced it to private security companies.
Sacu has officially declared a dispute on the salary negotiations and said they would refer the matter to the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
”We are certain that after we receive the certificate of non-resolution at the CCMA and the subsequent ballot of our members, that we will embark on industrial action as it is clear that Telkom employees have had enough,” said Sacu assistant general secretary Jannie Volschenk.
Telkom could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday. — Sapa