Telkom must retract retrenchment letters - union

Johannesburg - Labour union Solidarity has declared a dispute with Telkom [JSE:TKG] over retrenchment notices sent to employees, it said on Monday.

"Solidarity declared a dispute with Telkom regarding the telecommunication giant's section 189 retrenchment process," spokesperson Marius Croucamp said in a statement.

"This comes after Telkom sent a retrenchment notice to 105 of its employees, who could not be placed in alternative posts in the company, on 1 October."

The company said its restructuring was undertaken with "a commitment to consult and engage with all our labour representatives, at the appropriate and necessary junctures".

Telkom spokesperson Pynee Chetty on October 10 said the company had begun feedback discussions with organised labour.

Croucamp said the trade union advised Telkom to retract the retrenchment notice, sent to 16 Solidarity members, and to finalise the appointments that had to be made following the previous round of job advertisements.

He added that Solidarity was expecting a response from Telkom regarding the retraction of the notice on Monday.

"Should Telkom refuse to retract the notice, we will approach the Labour Court and indicate that Telkom is contravening section 189 of the Labour Relations Act," said Croucamp.

Chetty had not responded questions emailed to him earlier on Monday.