UPDATE 1-S.African union says Telkom workers to strike

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JOHANNESBURG, July 30 (Reuters) - Telkom (TKGJ.J) workers from two South African communication industry trade unions will go on strike from Aug. 1-5 over wage demands, the country's main union confederation COSATU said on Wednesday.

COSATU said workers from the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and the South African Communications Union (SACU) would strike from early on Aug. 1 until early Aug. 5.

It did not say what percentage of South Africa's largest fixed-line phone company's total workforce would be affected.

No-one at Telkom could immediately be reached for a comment.

COSATU said the two unions wanted Telkom to increase salaries by 12.5 percent for the year to end March 2009 and, retroactively, by 8.7 percent for the previous year. It wants Telkom to boost medical aid and other contributions.

The unions said Telkom had refused the demands.

Trade Union Solidarity earlier this month accepted an average wage increase of 10.5 percent for its 4,000 members at Telkom.

Wage talks were opened after a sharp rise in local inflation to a 5-1/2 year high of 10.9 percent in May -- surpassing a level laid down under an agreement signed in 2006 above which negotiations could be restarted.