Trade union Solidarity has given Telkom a "final warning" to abandon the race criteria it uses for retrenchments.
The union said in a statement today it had warned the telco on several occasions during the retrenchment process that employment equity criteria, which include considerations of race, should not apply to retrenchments.
Marius Croucamp, Solidarity's head of industry, says it is unlawful to use considerations of race in the process of deciding who is to be retrenched, as retrenchment is a "no fault" dismissal.
"How can any employer penalise an employee based on his or her race in the decision-making process to retrench people? This criterion is simply built into the process to ensure that Telkom's BEE rating is promoted and to ensure that the ANC's ideology of absolute race representivity is achieved."
Croucamp says Solidarity is busy consulting with its legal team, preparing court papers to fight the issue in the labour court. "This issue is of such importance to Solidarity that we will take it as far as the Constitutional Court."
ITWeb reported in May that Telkom expected to cut as many as 650 staff in a management retrenchment process, because of its financial situation and a need to flatten its management structure. The organisation has said the process is "imperative for the survival of the business into the future and its necessary success".
The company said at the time that, while it intended to "build the right organisation for the future by improving the business performance and unlocking efficiencies", it would continue to explore other avenues that could assist with cost reduction.
In response to Solidarity's statement, Telkom said it would focus on retaining skills.
The company says it will consider qualifications and experience, "last in, first out" and employment equity throughout its restructuring process.
"It is important to note that employment equity is only one of the criteria that will be applied to this process."
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