Negotiations between Telkom and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) over a pay dispute have hit a roadblock.
The CWU, which is behind a strike against Telkom, says workers at the company need a cost-of-living, inflation-linked salary increase.
The strike, though, has been dogged by allegations that CWU members have resorted to violence and sabotage of Telkom’s network — claims that the union denies.
Nevertheless, talks between Telkom and the CWU went ahead late on Monday in Sandton in Johannesburg in a bid to negotiate a deal.
But the talks hit a deadlock over demands for an 11% salary increase, six months’ maternity leave, gain-sharing, bridging the “apartheid wage gap” and a three-year moratorium on retrenchments and outsourcing, according to the CWU.
“The CWU confirms that this was a futile exercise and urge[s] its members to intensify the strike,” said the union in a statement.
The CWU further asked its “provincial structures to escalate their programmes so that our actions could be felt in [the] ivory towers of Maseko and his masters”. Sipho Maseko is Telkom’s group CEO.
In its statement, the union said that Telkom asked it to consider suspending the strike amid allegations of sabotage and intimidation. But it refused and called on Telkom management to respond to its demands.
Telkom confirmed that the talks had broken down.
Earlier this week, the company said its network had been sabotaged, affecting services for over 13 000 customers.
In a statement on Sunday, Telkom slammed the CWU for allegedly blockading entry and exit points at the company’s facilities, intimidating workers and damaging equipment.
Telkom further alleged that a CWU protester hurled a brick through a non-striking employee’s car window in Randburg, while technicians in the Western Cape had reportedly received threatening text messages from the union.