Unions call for jobs to be saved in Post Office rescue
Organised labour urges rethink after creditors approve plan that will result in 6,000 layoffs
Unions have called on the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) for the beleaguered SA Post Office to consider other avenues instead of retrenching thousands of employees, saying layoffs are not the “right approach”.
A majority of creditors voted on Thursday in favour of the business rescue plan, which includes reducing the branch network and retrenching about 6,000 employees.
The BRPs, Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons, said the plan will be adopted in two phases over two to five years.
“Phase 1 will involve stabilising the business, reducing the branch network to some 600 branches and rightsizing the headcount to some 5,000 employees,” Rooplal and Damons said in a statement.
The Post Office is among the state-owned enterprises that have floundered, losing R19bn over the years as a result of operating outdated business models and failing to adopt digital developments.
The Post Office, which last made a profit in 2004, said it needs a government bailout of R3.8bn to pay retrenchment costs; pay the creditors’ dividend; and use investment capital to repair and modernise assets.
While unions welcome the turnaround plan, they are against retrenching workers as that would add to SA’s already high unemployment rate. The official unemployment rate stood at 32% in the third quarter.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU), one of the major unions among the Post Office’s workforce of roughly 11,000 to 12,000, has said the section 189 notice dealing with retrenchments which the Post Office issued to employees in February could affect service delivery to rural and poor communities.
But the BRPs said the focus would be on “improving service delivery levels, including increasing its fleet to deliver letter and parcels timeously. New digital products will be considered and launched to increase revenue streams, while automating more of the daily tasks.” Damons said: “Customer centricity and supplying the correct tools of the trade to the staff will be a key and ongoing initiative to provide excellent service, win back market share and gain traction with new products.”
Phase 2 of the turnaround plan would implement elements of the “Post Office of Tomorrow strategy and ultimately achieve the outcomes defined in the SA Post Office Amendment Bill. The Post Office will be repurposed to provide diversified and expanded services through hybrid mail extensions, new motor licence disc solutions, higher property rental revenues or sales of owned property and the creation of a digital hub for inclusive communications.”
Strategic public-private partnerships will be sought and negotiated in e-commerce and logistics, “which will assist to future-proof the organisation”.
Rooplal said: “We thank those creditors who voted in favour of the plan. We believe that with our continued involvement, hard work and detailed strategy, we can restructure the Post Office into a future-proofed business that can provide ‘communications inclusion’ for all South Africans.”
SA Postal Workers Union general secretary David Mangena said: “We can’t be happy when 6,000 people are about to lose employment.
“We will put a strong case for our members for the BRP process to consider other avenues instead of retrenchments.”
Employees at risk of losing their jobs include mail carriers, drivers, and retail staff.
Democratic Postal and Communications Union general secretary Levy Zwane said: “Inasmuch as we welcome the approval of the plan by creditors, we don’t approve of the reduction of staff by almost 6,000 employees. Our view has always been to say the Post Office is not experiencing a problem of staff, it is its business model that is the problem. We have told the BRPs that we don’t think this is the right approach.”
CWU general secretary Aubrey Tshabalala could not be reached at once for comment.
WE BELIEVE THAT … WE CAN RESTRUCTURE THE POST OFFICE INTO A FUTURE-PROOFED BUSINESS