Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Telkom claims closure with labour

    Telkom claims closure with labour

    By Craig Wilson25 July 2013
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Sipho Maseko
    Sipho Maseko

    The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has reached a settlement with Telkom in the long-running wage dispute between the operator and trade unions.

    The CWU has accepted Telkom’s three-year wage offer. The other unions embroiled in the dispute have yet to sign, but Telkom says it expects them to do so shortly.

    The wage dispute between Telkom and all three represented trade unions — the CWU, Solidarity and the South African Communications Union (Sacu) — began in March when a two-year wage deal came to an end.

    The CWU proved amenable to Telkom’s offer, but Sacu and Solidarity continue to contend that they cannot accept what’s been put on the table.

    According to the Sacu and Solidarity, Telkom initially offered a 6%/year increase across the board for three years, but then changed this position, saying it wanted to reduce wage disparity and the increase would no longer be uniform but would be scaled depending on employees’ jobs and salaries.

    The two unions have argued that under Telkom’s proposed remuneration model some employees will receive increases well below 6%, while others’ salaries and wages will remain largely unchanged for the next three years.

    Sacu and Solidarity haven’t signed the agreement because they are concluding what Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko calls “their own internal democratic processes”. Nevertheless, he says Sacu has indicated willingness to sign the agreement. “If either signs, we’ll have a majority agreement.”

    Maseko says Telkom will continue to engage with Solidarity, but won’t do so in the media if it can help it. “We shy away from dealing with them in public because we’re still going to be here when the media moves on,” he says. “CWU is the majority union, but it will be fantastic when the other unions sign and we can move forward.”

    Telkom’s offer is intended to address “historical differentials as to how people were paid”, Maseko says. “We needed to fix that; it’s illegal and it’s not right. We don’t want people to be paid differently because they are male or white. We’ve gone a long way to address that.”

    He says Telkom and the CWU are “committed to make sure Telkom returns to its glorious past … and that everyone in Telkom who is a stakeholder begins to be part of that vision”.

    CWU president Cecil Mokhantso says the union has never seen a perfect agreement because “both parties get a mandate from two different constituencies”. “Obviously it’s not in our interests to see Telkom go down. If Telkom goes down, so does CWU. We are committed to making sure the company succeeds.”

    Cecil Mokhantso
    Cecil Mokhantso

    Solidarity spokesman Marius Croucamp has previously argued  that Telkom’s offer is not linked to inflation and that although 60% of workers will receive an increase this year, if the new model is adopted, only 40% will get a pay rise next year and only 30% in 2015.

    Furthermore, Solidarity and Sacu have argued that wage negotiations are not the time to introduce new remuneration models.

    Telkom held bilateral meetings with the two disgruntled unions last week to try to clarify the details of its offer so that the unions could, in turn, communicate the details to their members.

    Because the unions were unwilling to accept Telkom’s offer, even after the bilateral meetings, they have called on the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration to issue strike certificates.

    It’s a commonly held view that Telkom is grossly overstaffed, but Maseko says this is only one of the challenges the company faces. “I look at it differently,” he says. “I think we have a cost issue. The cost drivers are varied. It’s not just people. We have cost issues in our supply chain, in terms of infrastructure and in our operations.

    “Our cost-efficiency programme is looking at all of those issues and how we look at some other growth options as well. It’s an area where we don’t just want to focus on staff.”

    According to Maseko, suggestions that Telkom faces an “imminent strike” are overblown. “We are just not at that point. There is a maturity on the side of Telkom and labour in making sure that in the end we do what’s best for Telkom and the people who work in it. The turnaround of Telkom is something we’ve jointly bought into.”  — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media



    Cecil Mokhantso CWU Marius Croucamp Sacu Sipho Maseko Solidarity Telkom
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous Article‘Telkom must balance interests’ – Carrim
    Next Article Solidarity: Telkom CEO is ‘lying’

    Related Posts

    MVNO boom is reshaping South Africa’s mobile market

    12 June 2025

    Watch | Lunga Siyo on Telkom’s big growth plans

    11 June 2025

    Capex clash: Vodacom, MTN and Telkom battle over network supremacy

    11 June 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.