Telecommunications group Telkom has remained defensive of a turnaround strategy and restructuring plan that will result in extensive job losses, saying in a statement on Wednesday that it has been informed by “a number of complex and demanding” considerations.

Engineering News Online reported earlier this week that labour union Solidarity had declared a dispute with the group over its latest retrenchment process, threatening to take the matter to the Labour Court if it failed to retract the retrenchment notices sent to 105 employees last week.

Telkom, in an ongoing effort to trim expenses and pull the company back into profitability, issued 105 retrenchment notices – 16 of which went to Solidarity members – on October 1.

The group, however, emphasised on Wednesday that it would not withdraw the notices, which it argued had been legitimately issued in line with an agreed-upon process.

“The organisational restructuring has not been driven by headcount reduction targets, but rather by business imperatives that will shape the long-term commercial sustainability of the company.

“This turnaround is a tough journey. These staff reductions have resulted in high levels of anxiety and we remain committed to doing all we can to limit the impact of these changes on our people. We do, however, need to remain focused to deliver on our collective future success,” commented Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko.

Telkom said that, as part of its larger Telkom turnaround strategy, it had begun discussions with representatives from organised labour in April.

These discussions focused on the initiation of an organisational restructuring process that would result in “some” headcount reduction.

“Telkom’s commitment throughout these discussions has been to conduct this difficult process with respect to both the letter and the spirit of South Africa’s labour laws. An independent mediator has been used to facilitate all the discussions, in the best interest of all affected parties,” the group noted.

It added that the affected staff had been engaged over the timelines to be followed, while the restructuring had been limited to “management and specialist layers”.

“In line with these agreed-upon timelines, each affected individual was given two opportunities to apply for positions [within] the new structures. Staff were also engaged to suggest alternate options, such as the voluntary severance packages and voluntary retirement options,” Maseko said.

At the end of September, the Section 189 process was concluded and, in accordance with the agreed upon process, staff that had not been appointed into a new role by the end of September were thus issued with notices of termination.

The period of service for those affected individuals would conclude at the end of October.

Telkom added that it had, however, consistently sought to pursue any reasonable measure to retain qualified and experienced staff, and had informed all affected staff that they were eligible to apply for any roles that may become available through normal staff movement processes, such as resignations or transfers, in October.

“This offer is not part of the Section 189 process but is a separate action by the company as a final attempt to place affected candidates.

“Simply placing people into positions, regardless of their competencies, qualification or experience just to avoid their retrenchment, would be a huge disservice to the business. While we respect labour’s right to protect their members, Telkom must place the right people in the right structures and roles,” it outlined.