Vodacom agrees to negotiate with workers to avert strike action
Friday 8th June 2007
UNI Communicators Forum - Singapore
Workers at Vodacom in South Africa have won a major breakthrough in their running battle to improve working conditions at the telecommunications giant by gaining a commitment from the company to commence negotiations for a collective agreement.
Members of the Communications Workers Union were to commence strike action on Wednesday in an effort to force Vodacom management to commence genuine negotiations around recognition, pay, hours of work and other conditions.
To avert the strike, Vodacom management agreed to negotiate with the CWU on Tuesday and the union has postponed action until later in the month to allow negotiations to proceed.
Vodacom, whose global parent is Vodafone, is South Africa’s largest mobile phone network with 30 million customers, making more than 5 billion Rand profit last year.
The CWU has been campaigning on behalf of Vodacom’s employees despite intense anti-union activity by management. In 1999 the CWU won the right to organize Vodacom but has faced years of management intimidation and discrimination against workers seeking to join the union.
Vodacom workers are paid low wages, as little as 5000 Rand a month, work long hours and shifts and face difficulties accessing basic rights to maternity leave and occupational health and safety. In some instances, workers have been forced to repay the company for availing of sick leave.
The CWU’s Mfanafuthi Sithebe informed an international gathering UNI Communicators at their forum being held in Singapore of the campaign and the significant breakthrough achieved by Vodacom workers.
“Of course we have only achieved one step in the struggle for better conditions at Vodacom. The test still remains to see if the company will bargain in good faith and whether they will improve working conditions.”
“It has taken great courage from our members at Vodacom to get to this point and they remain strong in their resolve to gain better conditions. Vodacom is a very successful company that can easily afford to provide their workforce with decent working conditions” said Mr. Sithebe.
To read more about the dispute please visit: http://cwuvodacom.blogspot.com/