EWN reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has rejected Telkom's reasons for planning to retrench 3,000 of its employees.  

Numsa met with Telkom management on Wednesday and Thursday last week to discuss the imminent job cuts.  The union had complained about not being fully represented during the first consultations Telkom had held with unions, but indicated that the CCMA commissioner had given agreement for Numsa to be present during future talks.  Telkom has blamed the sluggish economy for its decision to cut jobs, but Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi pointed out that Telkom needed to substantiate how laying off workers would help with its performance.  "Telkom management has cited stiff competition as a drawback but we're not convinced how trimming the workforce will actually address that issue.  Telkom management also failed to substantiate reasons why Telkom is losing so much revenue when it is operating on fixed line and mobile date but its competitors are only focusing on mobile data," she stated.

• Read the original of the above report at EWN

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