Telkom signs pay deal with one union

Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko. Picture: ARNOLD PRONTO

TELKOM signed a wage increase agreement with the Communications Workers Union (CWU) on Thursday, which will see low-paid workers receive an average rise of 6.8% over three years.

The agreement is intended to address the historical salary disparities that have seen employees on the same ranking and level paid differently. The South African Communications Union (Sacu) and Solidarity were against the proposed wage increase and even threatened a strike.

According to Telkom, Sacu is keen to sign the agreement. But Solidarity is yet to decide and has warned that if Telkom implements the agreement unilaterally it will go to court to block such a move as "it amounts to discrimination based on union affiliation", said Solidarity spokesman Marius Croucamp.

Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko said the deal would fix the "historical differentials as to how people were paid. 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."

The three-year deal will assist the company on "its journey to restoring financial health and ensuring long-term sustainability by eliminating uncertainties over labour costs for the next three years", the company said.

CWU president Cecil Mokhontso said the agreement was "not perfect" but was "ideal" to eradicate salary differences between black and white employees at Telkom.

"It is not in our interest to see Telkom going down. We are committed to work with Telkom to ensure it succeeds," he said.

The agreement will benefit 16,800 employees who will receive increases while 1,700 will not receive salary adjustments but once-off monthly payments.

Meshack Dlamini, executive for employee relations, said members of both Sacu and Solidarity would benefit from the deal.

Mr Croucamp said Solidarity?s members were yet to decide whether to accept the offer or embark on an industrial action. He said Telkom was "undermining" Solidarity by signing an agreement with the CWU.

He said the CWU was not a majority union at Telkom and the agreement should not be enforced. "The model that Telkom wants to implement is flawed. Yes, there are disparities, but the model will cause problems. Some of the employees affected may end up leaving the company," he said.

Sacu?s president Michael Hare said the terms of the agreement with CWU were not enforceable on Sacu members. He said Sacu members could accept the offer if Telkom included among other things the "re-instatement of the support job salary to the maximum of their grade".

During the talks Telkom offered a 6% wage increase plus job security for three years. But it later withdrew the offer.

The settlement with CWU will increase the human capital costs by 6.8% over three yeas.

Mr Dlamini said the pay agreement signed with the unions in 2009 made provision to address the differences in salaries among employees on the same levels, but follow-up on that provision was not "rigorous enough".

"It was becoming difficult (for Telkom) to explain these discrepancies. This agreement (with CWU) is looking beyond race and gender. It will give the company a chance to focus on major issues," he said.

Meanwhile, members of Telkom?s board of directors on Thursday met new Communications Minister Yunus Carrim and Deputy Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. The purpose of the meeting was to share information about government priorities and explore ways in which Telkom can contribute to government?s goal of reducing the cost to communicate, the Department of Communications said.

Source: http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/labour/2013/07/26/telkom-signs-pay-deal-with-one-union

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