SELLWANE KHAKHAU
Solidarity says they are thrilled to have the court rule in their favour and that of the 7000 Telkom employees facing the possibility of losing their jobs within the next month. This, as Telkom plans to cut its workforce by 4 400 employees through voluntary severance and early retirement packages, and further outsource an additional 3000 employees to other companies.
According Solidarity’s deputy general secretary, Johan Kruger, the court further instructed the parastatal to withdraw the letters of notice that it had already issued out to some of its employees. Kruger added that the matter will be referred to the CCMA within the next five days, to ensure that Telkom follows the necessary procedure in the retrenchment plans.
“Telkom must stop with its restructuring process and withdraw section 189 notices that have been sent to workers. The matter must now be referred to the CCMA within five days for the dispute regarding the collective agreement to ensure that procedures that have been agreed upon in terms of this kind of process are being followed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Telkom’s spokesperson, Jacqui O’Sullivan told East Coast Radio that they are disappointed with the court outcome.
“We will study the full judgment and determine our next steps. The judge has indicated that the dispute needs to be referred to the CCMA within the next five days. The judge also ordered that the dispute be resolved expeditiously,” she said.
The matter was heard at the Johannesburg Labour court yesterday, and the verdict was handed out this morning by Judge David Gush.
