Johannesburg - The Confederations Cup may be in danger as 80% of Telkom's workforce threatens to go on strike, claims a union.

"You must remember that Telkom is the ICT (information and communication technology) supplier to the Confederations Cup. Our members are ready to go on strike and this could put the (tournament) in jeopardy," said Communication Workers Union (CWU) leading negotiator Richard Poulton. "We don't want to do that, but we must defend our demands."

Should the strike go ahead, World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck believes Telkom will be able to work around it.

"I don't think there will be a major impact on the Confederations Cup," he said. "Fifa and the South African Football Association (Safa) have done very little to promote the event, so if anything goes wrong it will probably go unnoticed."

These threats come after a number of failed attempts to reach agreement on wage increases and address the disparities between workers within the same job grade.

"The Employment Equity Act states that every employee must submit a plan to address inequalities within the workplace. But Telkom has never addressed these issues," said Poulton. "These issues must be resolved once and for all."

The union has already lowered its demand for a 16% basic salary increase to 13%. However, this is still considerably higher than the 7.5% salary increase offered by Telkom.

Telkom 'pleading poverty'

"There needs to be an increase that at least meets the CPI (consumer price index), which is 8.5%, and makes room for other standard of living increases," said Poulton. "We are open for negotiations, but they must meet us half way."

According to Poulton, Telkom has the necessary funds to meet demands, but he says it is pleading poverty.

"We take cognisance of our current conditions, but in 2008 R7.5bn was earmarked for salaries. More than 50% of that goes to around 3 000 employees, which largely consist of management. The other 21 000 employees must survive on the remaining 50%. You can just imagine the inequality."

Along with this, CEO Reuben September and top management are receiving bonuses thanks to the billions of rands brought in by the Vodacom deal, which workers are not privy to, he said.

Telkom did not respond to Fin24.com's requests for information about remuneration.

Poulton is doubtful that a solution between parties will be reached, but Telkom remains optimistic.

"Negotiations are still continuing and, following the last round of discussions, all parties are in agreement that no deadlock has been reached," said Telkom's executive for employee relations, Meshack Dlamini. "In addition, part of Telkom's offer that has been tabled aims to address the issue of income differentials."

No further negotiation meetings are scheduled, but Poulton said he was ready to meet "anytime, anywhere".

If these disputes are not resolved by Friday, the CWU is likely to turn to the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration. Workers are ready to strike when the Confederations Cup kicks off in less than two weeks.

- Fin24.com