March 28, 2008

Vodacom May Face Strike Over Equity Sale, Business Report Says

By Carli Lourens, Bloomberg.net

March 27 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa's Vodacom Group Ltd. may face a strike by workers angry over the prospect of white staff members being included in a group that wants to buy a stake, Business Report reported, citing a Communications Workers Union representative it didn't identify.

Vodacom said last year it will sell 25 percent of its equity for 7.5 billion rand ($930 million) to staff, business partners and black investor groups and individuals, in a black economic empowerment transaction, the newspaper reported.

The company may contradict the South African government's guidelines for black empowerment agreements if it sells shares to white staff members, according to the union representative, Business Report added.

To contact the reporters on this story: Carli Lourens in Johannesburg at clourens@bloomberg.net