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

      Top ANC MP slams business leader’s call to scrap Sita monopoly

      25 April 2025

      AI reset at Apple

      25 April 2025

      MTN Group hit by ‘cybersecurity incident’

      24 April 2025

      Southern Africa eyes EU-style flat roaming fees

      24 April 2025

      Cold weather floors Eskom – load shedding returns

      24 April 2025
    • World

      Ads are coming to Threads, Meta’s X rival

      24 April 2025

      CATL launches new sodium-ion battery brand

      21 April 2025

      Africa VC inflows shrink for second straight year

      14 April 2025

      CATL gets approval for year’s biggest listing

      14 April 2025

      AI meets binge-watching: Netflix tests next-gen search

      13 April 2025
    • In-depth

      Social media’s Big Tobacco moment is coming

      13 April 2025

      This is Europe’s shot to emerge from Silicon Valley’s shadow

      10 April 2025

      Microsoft turns 50

      4 April 2025

      World reels from Trump tariff shock

      3 April 2025

      AI agents are here – but are they thinking for us or replacing us?

      12 March 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Inside MTN’s big brand overhaul

      11 April 2025

      TCS | Discovery Bank CEO Hylton Kallner on tech, AI and the future of banking

      23 March 2025

      TCS | Across South Africa in an EV: how one man did it before charging stations

      13 March 2025

      TCS+ | Snode CEO Nithen Naidoo on the cybersecurity opportunity

      4 March 2025

      TCS | Why the CompCom wants Google to pay up

      27 February 2025
    • Opinion

      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

      ICT distributors must embrace innovation or risk irrelevance

      9 April 2025

      South Africa unprepared for deepfake chaos

      3 April 2025

      Google: South African media plan threatens investment

      3 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • 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
      • 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
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Telkom strike averted

    Telkom strike averted

    By Sunil Gopal30 March 2015
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Telkom's head office complex in downtown Pretoria
    Telkom’s head office complex in downtown Pretoria

    It appears that a potentially crippling strike at Telkom has been averted. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which had threatened to take its members out on strike over grievances, now appears to have accepted an offer made by the company.

    The union’s general secretary, Aubrey Tshabalala, says he is encouraged by talks with Telkom management over the future plans for the operator.

    Last week, the CWU threatened to go on strike after talks over voluntary severance and early retirement packages fell through.

    On Thursday last week, CWU members held a protest outside the offices of the department of telecommunications and postal services in Pretoria. Protesters called for the heads of Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko and chief procurement officer Ian Russell, with placards stating “Fit for the Future … Reconnect, Retrenchment, Outsourcing … what’s next Ian and Sipho.”

    The protest came after talks with Telkom reached an impasse, with the union withholding its majority consent on the voluntary severance and early retirement packages. The union also expressed its concerns with the proposed outsourcing of various functions.

    In February, Telkom announced plans to restructure its business, outsourcing noncore operations, rationalising its IT systems and closing retail stores, among other cost-saving moves.

    The company promised to keep job losses to a minimum and denied a claim by labour union Solidarity at the time that job cuts are planned in its field service (maintenance) division.

    Telkom agreed to the make voluntary severance and early retirement packages available to employees affected by Telkom’s current restructuring initiatives. The plan has already been accepted by the two other unions recognised by Telkom, namely the South African Communications Union and Solidarity.

    Tshabalala says the CWU is “firmly opposed to a reduction of jobs through retrenchments”.

    “While we are not necessarily agreeing with outsourcing, the ownership of those companies must come to workers in the form of cooperatives.”

    He says the union has taken the matter to the ANC to share views on how Telkom’s restructuring plans might affect South Africa as a “developmental state” while still allowing the company to be competitive.

    “We are encouraged that the Communication Workers Union has indicated that it will extend the voluntary severance packages and voluntary early retirement packages to its members,” says Telkom spokesman Jacqui O’Sullivan. “However, a signed variation agreement is required from the CWU before Telkom can formally extend the offer.”  — © 2015 NewsCentral Media



    Communication Workers Union CWU Sipho Maseko Telkom Ian Russell
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleThe forces transforming television
    Next Article Sapa meets its final deadline

    Related Posts

    MultiChoice and Canal+ agree to more time to get deal done

    4 March 2025

    Canal+ buyout: Sipho Maseko to invest in MultiChoice entity

    4 February 2025

    CWU threatens SABC with full-blown strike

    20 March 2024
    Company News

    Next-level gaming starts with the AI-smart Honor Magic7 Pro

    25 April 2025

    Key trends from Arctic Wolf’s 2024 Incident Response Report

    25 April 2025

    Get a world-class app from expert South African developers

    25 April 2025
    Opinion

    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

    ICT distributors must embrace innovation or risk irrelevance

    9 April 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.