Telkom said on Wednesday it had terminated discussions relating to Rain’s proposal for a potential acquisition for newly issued shares in Telkom.
Telkom has issued retrenchment letters to 105 staff members, the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) said on Friday.
“This was surprising to us as Telkom had reported that 302 management staff had taken voluntary severance packages and others had taken voluntary retirement packages,” it said in a statement. “The target that Telkom wanted to achieve was 223, which meant that with 302 having been allowed to exit through severance packages they had over- achieved their target of 223 …
“Secondly, there were still 168 vacancies available, yet Telkom had issued these 105 managers with letters of forceful retrenchment.” CWU demanded that Telkom retract the letters. Telkom spokesperson Pynee Chetty said its restructuring was undertaken with “a commitment to consult and engage with all our labour representatives, at the appropriate and necessary junctures”.
“Telkom has begun feedback discussions with organised labour, including the CWU,” he said. “These discussions are ongoing and it would not be appropriate to discuss any potential content, prior to the conclusion of those discussions.”
The CWU said it had raised concerns with chief executive Sipho Maseko about a number of issues, including employment equity in relation to retrenchments. “With the current process of retrenchment of management staff in all divisions, the majority of positions that are not affected are those of whites, while the black majority is being retrenched,” the union claimed.
“Those who are lucky to make the cut are misplaced in favour of his [Maseko’s] white staff.” The CWU called for Maseko’s resignation. – Sapa