South African fixed-line utility Telkom, in the throes of protracted industrial action by some of its employees, has been hit by a second wave of vandalism, which has interrupted services in various parts of the country.
The latest incident sparked rumours that striking workers may be responsible for the damage, but Telkom has refused to link the two at this stage. However, it is understood that a possible link is being investigated.
The company said yesterday it is still investigating the cause of a network failure in KwaZulu-Natal that affected all fixed-line and mobile communications in that province, as well as into Botswana, limiting incoming and outgoing voice capabilities. Telkom said the failure resulted from an unspecified cable breakage.
While this problem was rectified on Tuesday, Telkom this morning reported another spate of vandalism, in which network problems were caused following damage to 65 street distribution cabinets (SDC) - points of connection usually located on street corners to enable a service to customers.
Orchestrated damage
Telkom`s chief technical officer Thami Msimango says "the nature of the damage indicates this was the work of vandals on an orchestrated basis". The first instances of vandalism were picked up on Sunday.
"At this stage it is unclear who was behind these acts of vandalism, but an investigation is under way," Msimango adds, saying the restoration of services is Telkom`s main priority at this stage.
Of the damaged SDCs, 46 were in KwaZulu-Natal (mainly in the greater Durban area, but also scattered throughout the province), 12 in the Pretoria, Witbank and Nelspruit areas, three in the Cape and four in other parts of Gauteng. Services in some areas have already been restored.
The damage mainly included the wilful cutting of connection points to customers and the incineration of entire SDCs, Telkom says in a statement.
Meanwhile, a source suggests that the KwaZulu-Natal cable breakage, as well as the vandalism of SDCs, may be linked to the strike by members of the Communications Workers Union (CWU), who have been locked out by Telkom until they agree to sign the company`s latest wage offer.
Deadlocked
Negotiations have deadlocked between the two parties and Telkom is refusing to enter into further negotiations with the union. The company has offered improved profit-sharing for lowest paid employees, from an initial 256% to over 400%, while long-service awards will be backdated to 1 January 2006.
In addition, says Telkom, on the issue of grade compression, employees who meet and/or exceed their performance targets will receive an additional fixed amount to their basic salaries if their annual salaries fall below the specified threshold.
Officially, Telkom has not made the link between the vandalism and striking employees, but the source says this possibility is being probed.
"Should the company find CWU members are responsible for the damage, it would cause an extremely sensitive issue," the source says, adding that Telkom is taking into account that the damage was caused by people who "knew what they were doing".
CWU head of communications Mfanafuthi Sithebe refused to speak to ITWeb this morning, saying a media statement about the strike was being prepared.
Related story:
Telkom probes cable breakage
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