Jobs are safe, says Telkom

By Christelle du Toit for Telkom
Johannesburg, 02 Apr 2008

Fixed-line operator Telkom has moved to assure unions that the jobs of those who used to protect its copper cables are safe.

This follows the company's decision to outsource the function to the private sector, redeploying about 74 employees to other parts of the company.

However, the South African Communications Union (SACU) says there is a bigger issue at stake than 70-odd people's jobs.

"It is fact that merely the mention of outsourcing makes unionists shiver, as the previous round of outsourcing back in 1999 resulted in approximately 3 000 employees outsourced to other companies being retrenched, after the companies failed to be sustainable within three months of being established," says SACU assistant general-secretary Jannie Volschenk.

Volschenk points out that the move to outsource the functions of people who used to protect and investigate copper cable theft forms part of Telkom's greater reorganisation strategy - called a capability management process - where about 12 000 people would be outsourced in a bid to make the company more profitable.

He says this specific restructuring will substantially lessen the workload of the relevant employees.

"It is trite that the employees will not be fired," he maintains. "It is also trite since, if these employees will now only fulfil a part of other initial functions, their employment status becomes questionable. The future of these employees seems bleak and their morale is at an all-time low."

Proactive protection

Earlier this year, Telkom said it would spend in the region of R100 million on protecting its copper, which is proving attractive to criminals due to high international copper prices.

While the company has not yet been willing to divulge how much of a problem cable theft is for it, it is believed that as many as half of all line faults reported to Telkom could be attributed to cable theft.

However, Nabintu Petsana, acting group executive for corporate communications at Telkom, is adamant the restructuring of the copper protection unit does not automatically equate to job losses.

"Telkom is busy reviewing its strategies on cable theft and the manner in which it engages external service providers to assist in combating cable thefts. Telkom has realigned certain units within the company, but has certainly not removed them."

She is unaware of any plans to retrench workers and says the company is satisfied with the service provider that has been appointed to look after the company's copper - Royal Securities.

Some of the services Royal Securities will provide include proactively alarming critical cable routes and using armed guards. In addition, Telkom will be deploying wireless alternatives to copper, burying cables where possible, working with Business Against Crime, and engaging government in order to facilitate more solutions to the copper theft problem.