2. COMMENTARY ON THE DISMISSAL OF PORTIA SITHOLE
3. MORE PICTURES FROM THE MARCH 12 PICKET... LESS THAN 10%, VODACOM?
1. GAUTENG MEMBERSHIP MEETING NEXT WEEK
NOTICE OF CWU MEETING FOR VODACOM GAUTENG MEMBERS
This is to serve as notice to all the members of the CWU at Vodacom campuses around Gauteng about a meeting that will be held.
DATE: TUESDAY, 27 MARCH 2007
VENUE:SAINT MONICAS CHURCH
TIME: 17h30
We will be discussing recent developments and discussing the way forward.
As we have received hundreds of membership forms in the last month, our contact database is not up to date. Please help by discussing this information with other comrades.
DIRECTIONS:
From Vodacom drive toward Lever Rd,Turn Left, cross New Road set of robots(Sanridge Mall), pass 2nd robots (Carlswald Mall), 3rd robots turn Right. Pass a complex on the left, Pass a short street turning left. The church will also be on the left.
A map is here2. COMMENTARY ON THE DISMISSAL OF PORTIA SITHOLE
SHOULD COMPANIES SPY ON THEIR EMPLOYEES WHEN THEY ARE NOT AT WORK?
You return to work one Monday after taking sick leave and you are called to a disciplinary hearing for "dishonesty" and "abusing your sick leave." At the hearing, your employer presents a number of witnesses who say they saw you and you were not exactly lying in bed. You also learn that the company was spying on your location via your mobile phone.
No doubt you would feel that your privacy has been invaded. That the company is not a medical doctor to tell you what you can and cannot do when you are sick. That you are free person and not the property of the company. It is none of their business what you do when you are not at work.
This is exactly how Portia Sithole feels. A Medical Doctor told Sithole that she was unfit to work for two days. She promptly informed the company and obtained sick leave. On the second day of her leave she attended a union activity. When Sithole came back to work they accused her of dishonesty and abuse of sick leave. The basis of the accusation was the testimony of two heads of department who claim they saw her at the union activity, presumably sent by Vodacom for the all-important mission of spying on Sithole. Not only that, but Vodacom also tracked her location via her mobile phone. On Friday last week later, Sithole was fired over this.
The scenario raises several alarming points. First, it makes one wonder if Vodacom has nothing better to do - like ensure quality service to customers. Second, it is scary to think of companies being allowed to track your every move through your phone. Third, that it should be doctors and not Vodacom, who determine when you are sick. If Vodacom feels (in their professional opinion as a telecommunications company) that the doctor was dishonest, they should bring this matter up with the doctor.
One also wonders what exactly is "abuse of sick leave"? If you go buy food instead of lying in bed all the time of your sick leave, would this be "abuse"? Most importantly, one wonders if every Vodacom employee is followed while on sick leave like Sithole was.
I would venture that even Vodacom does not have a dedicated team of spies for every employee who is sick. In fact I wonder if Sithole is being treated in this way because she committed the unpardonable offence of speaking to the media about Vodacom (see this link), and the equally unpardonable offence (to Vodacom, at least) of being active in the union.
Whatever the answer is, Vodacom must remember that there are laws. Last I checked unions are legal organisations in South Africa. They are not banned and workers are free to participate in them. Maybe Vodacom should also review the laws - they certainly have changed in the last few years. Vodacom may not like them anymore than some people like obeying smoking laws, speed limits, etc. But the law is the law.
In plain business terms, if workers at Vodacom want a union then Vodacom should just negotiate with them like normal companies do. It would certainly be better for the company to spend its time servicing its customers instead of harassing its workers. As Aubrey Tshabalala, another Vodacom worker and CWU leader puts it "I don't understand why we are wasting company resources on these punitive measures"
3. MORE PICTURES FROM THE PICKET... LESS THAN 10%, VODACOM?
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