South Africa's Communication Workers Union (CWU) is happy to be described as "obstructionist" by the country's Labour Court, and said if by opposing job cuts and retrenchments the organisation is seen as "confrontational", they are guilty as charged.

This is according to Aubrey Tshabalala, General Secretary of CWU, who, responding to a statement issued by Telkom regarding a labour court judgement, added that the organisation respects the court's decision and will study the ruling in more depth.

The judgement relates to an urgent application brought before the Labour Court on 1 August 2016, and an interdict sought by CWU to stop Telkom from completing the retrenchment phase of its corporate office restructuring process.

In its statement Telkom states that the judgement found against the CWU and quotes an excerpt from the ruling which states "...there is not one real example in any of the consultations conducted, of the CWU making a proper proposal on any of the Section 189(2) consultation topics."

The telco added that between 8 March and 19 July it attempted to consult with the Union on 15 different occasions and "even sought to supplement consultations outside of the formal facilitated process to ensure that all issued were addressed."

According to Telkom, despite these many attempts the judgement notes that the Union maintained an "intransigent" position, insisting that all processes be halted and wages be negotiated.

"Throughout all our consultations with organised labour, we have sought to engage in a fair, transparent and meaningful manner. We negotiate in good faith and are pleased that today's judgement recognises that our adherence to and respect for due process, was not in vain," said Jacqui O'Sullivan, Telkom Managing Executive: Communication.

Telkom also says the judgement found no unfairness in the circumstances surrounding its restructuring process and "instead found that the conduct of the CWU itself had undermined consultation efforts."

The court has decided not to award costs in an effort to maintain the relationship between Telkom and the CWU, according to the telco's statement.

While Tshabalala opted not to go into detail over the findings of the judgement until the organisation has established its legal opinion, he said that it is the job of the Union to "consult and engage the capitalists which advance and expand at the expense of the poor and the working class in general."