Solidarity claim stalls

By Candice Jones for Telkom
Johannesburg, 06 Nov 2007

Solidarity`s dispute with Telkom has once again been put on hold, while the telecommunications giant attempts to draw a mandate from its executive committee.

The three-month wage dispute was presented to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) last week.

The union declared the disagreement in August, to oppose Telkom`s interpretation of the substantive collective agreement signed in April 2006. The contract guaranteed union members, in Telkom`s employ, an average salary increase of 6.5% for 2007.

Jaco Kleynhans, the union`s spokesman, says: "Telkom representatives told the commission they did not have a mandate from the executive committee to indicate if the dispute could be resolved on a financial level."

He says the CCMA has given Telkom until next week to obtain the mandate from the executive committee. "We will just have to wait and see what they have decided."

According to the union, if the mandate does not rule in favour of changing the wage interpretations, Solidarity will continue to follow the commission`s regulatory framework. "We will persist with the dispute until the matter is settled."

Kleynhans is still confident the CCMA will rule in favour of the union. "Especially, since on several occasions during discussions, Telkom`s representatives have concurred with our interpretation of the agreement."

Telkom had not commented on the issue by the time of publication.