Solidarity puts five demands to Pinky Moholi of Telkom: Stability at management level now necessary, says Solidarity
Trade union Solidarity submitted five demands regarding various issues to Nombulelo (Pinky) Moholi after she was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at this telecommunications giant. These demands include various issues, including the retention of critical skills, job security, stability and continuity at top management level, the improvement of Telkom's national and international image as well as security concerns. Moholi has 23 years' experience in the telecommunications industry.
According to Gideon du Plessis, Deputy General Secretary of Solidarity, it is high time that there is stability in Telkom's management, since there has been no continuity in Telkom's top management for several years. The trade union moreover expressed its hope that the employees' uncertainty occasioned by this instability will also now come to an end.
Du Plessis set out the five demands, which also include some of the problems that Telkom currently faces. "These issues need to be tackled urgently in Moholi's term as CEO," Du Plessis said.
1. Stability at top management level
According to Du Plessis, Moholi's first challenge is to appoint a skilled, committed management team that will ensure stability and continuity. "Telkom employees haven't known a stable work environment for five years," Du Plessis explained, "there were too many new managers who came and went over the past couple of years and each wanted to leave his or her own mark."
2. Skills retention and development
Solidarity further demands that Moholi present a skills retention and development strategy instead of the current affirmative action strategy which would indicate how Telkom is going to motivate and retain its employees with scarce skills. Moreover, the employees need to be supported through training to ensure that they stay on top of new technology. "It is much cheaper to retain skilled employees and train them further than to recruit, appoint and train a new employee from scratch," Du Plessis said.
3. Job security and employee morale
According to Du Plessis, Mohali should also now make an effort to tackle insecurity among employees, after recent severance packages were awarded. Since race and gender were used as criteria to decide which personnel would receive severance packages, white employees, in particular, feel insecure about their future at Telkom. Telkom lost a great deal of people with scarce skills, which were critical for good service delivery, when severance packages were awarded. "Wage negotiations will soon commence at Telkom. Moholi should grab this opportunity to reassure and motivate employees," according to Du Plessis.
4. Security concerns
According to the trade union, security needs to be increased at Telkom's office building in the Pretoria city centre. Earlier this year, seven delegates of Solidarity and AfriForum delivered a memorandum to the Pretoria Central Police Station to protest against the spate of attacks on Telkom employees near this office building. "Telkom needs to increase the security it provides to its employees and should work in close cooperation with the South African Police Service. Telkom employees have the right to work in a safe environment," Du Plessis explained.
5. Improvement of Telkom's national and international image
According to Du Plessis, Moholi needs to ensure that corruption and malpractice, which harms the company's image, is nipped in the bud. "A positive image is necessary to make Telkom sustainable and attractive to investors and consumers. If the discipline in this regard is irreproachable, it would filter through to ground level and have an extremely positive impact on service delivery in general," Du Plessis said.
Statement issued by Moira-Marie Kloppers, Solidarity spokesperson, March 18 2011
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