Share

Court dismisses bid to halt Telkom’s restructuring

Johannesburg - The Labour Court of South Africa has struck down a Communication Workers Union (CWU) bid to interdict Telkom from completing a restructuring process.

The urgent application, brought to the court on August 1 2016, sought to interdict Telkom from completing a Section 189, or retrenchment phase, at its corporate office.

But the court has found against the union and slammed CWU for its failure to consult in good faith.

Telkom said that between March 8 and July 19 it attempted to consult with CWU on 15 different occasions but the court said the union maintained an “intransigent” position.

“CWU had every opportunity to participate in the consultation process… It had every opportunity to table its own proposals,” read the judgment handed down on August 30.

“But to adopt the approach of effective non-participation in the process, wait until employment of employees is terminated, and then after the fact complain about the process, is just not proper,” said the court.

The court further found that Telkom’s restructuring process was fair and that the CWU had undermined consultation efforts.

“The overall objective of fair consultation has been achieved, despite the CWU’s best efforts to scupper this. In the end, it is the conduct of CWU itself that stands in the way of it claiming procedural unfairness,” read the judgment.

The court further decided not to award costs in a bid to maintain a relationship between Telkom and the union.

In the meantime, Telkom has welcomed the ruling.

“Throughout all our consultations with organised labour, we have sought to engage in a fair, transparent and meaningful manner,” said Jacqui O'Sullivan, Telkom’s managing executive for communication in a statement.

“We negotiate in good faith and are pleased that today’s judgement recognises that our adherence to and respect for due process, was not in vain,” said O'Sullivan.

Meanwhile, CWU said that it was still studying the judgment with its legal team and will comment further at a later date.

"The obvious thing is that we're disappointed about the judgment,” CWU secretary general, Aubrey Tshabalala, told Fin24.

The ruling has further come amid an ongoing strike at Telkom over a pay dispute.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.08
-0.9%
Rand - Pound
24.03
-0.6%
Rand - Euro
20.57
-0.5%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.38
-0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.9%
Platinum
890.97
-0.7%
Palladium
988.99
-1.3%
Gold
2,195.56
+0.0%
Silver
24.43
-0.9%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
67,885
+0.3%
All Share
74,077
+0.2%
Resource 10
56,208
+1.0%
Industrial 25
103,636
+0.4%
Financial 15
16,471
-0.3%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders