Telkom workers stage second stay-away

By Itumeleng Mogaki for Telkom
Johannesburg, 18 Apr 2006

A strike at Telkom got under way this morning, with about 11 000 Communications Workers Union (CWU) members downing tools for the next two days.

Last week, CWU instructed its members to take part in the two-day strike after it failed to reach agreement with Telkom regarding the union`s wage and profit-sharing demands.

In the latest development, the union has accused Telkom of using its line management to send SMSes to CWU members threatening them with a lockout unless they reported for work.

CWU head of communications Mfanafuthi Sithebe says Telkom is trying to coerce CWU members to return to work by informing them they can cancel their union membership, should they not wish to participate in the strike.

He alleges Telkom`s actions are illegal in terms of the country`s constitution. "The current strike is legal according to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration which gave us the go-ahead to embark on this strike," he says.

Sithebe also claims Telkom is under pressure and unless some CWU members withdraw from the strike and agree to Telkom`s offer, the company may give in to the union`s demands.

Telkom had not issued comment by the time of publication.