SKG to let go of 300 workers
Employees express displeasure with company’s reasons
MORE than 300 employees from companies linked to the Slip-Knot Group (SKG) in East London will be unemployed from next month as the multimillion-rand company is retrenching them.
The workers are employed by Khula Nathi Construction, Khula Nathi Plant Hire, Mister Windows, Marketing and SKG Properties.
A confirmed 298 workers are in their last month of employment while it is believed that five employees from marketing and other units will also be retrenched. The mass retrenchments also caused panic, with rumours the company would be disinvesting in the Eastern Cape.
The retrenchments have added to Buffalo City Metro’s unemployment rate, which sits at 35.1%.
SKG is one of the biggest employers in construction, development and properties in BCM. The planned retrenchment was first communicated in April and comes into effect at the end of this month.
The decision, according to the company was based on operational requirements and a “downturn in the economy”.
Saturday Dispatch has seen a document, signed by the company’s director, Rhett Shaw, in April, which shows almost 300 people will be leaving the company. The document was circulated among affected workers.
Employees spoke to the Saturday Dispatch on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation.
“We are just victims of unknown fear from the management team. We are working on projects that have been financed. Where is this decision coming from?” one worker asked.
“We are not happy with the process. We are human beings and have mouths to feed,” the employee said.
In the document, the company said 100 administration staff and 198 construction workers would be affected but promised that severance payments and other payments would be made to staff members.
This week, Shaw told the Dispatch that all those affected were wage-earners, mostly construction workers based at projects in the Mdantsane area.
“When the decision was taken, everyone affected was involved including the worker unions and the CCMA. We faced a number of challenges and that led us not to operate,” Shaw said. “The company will use a last-infirst-out system and the retention of skills to select employees whose services may be terminated.”
But a truck driver who had been working for the construction unit said the system was not working.
“There are people who came months after I’ve joined this company. We are doing the same work but they are staying behind. Is that fair?”
The workers also dismissed Shaw’s union talks, saying they were not affiliated to any union.
The Dispatch was reliably told yesterday that the marketing team was also retrenching staff but the company’s marketing executive, Honey Lusu, was not available for comment.
Currently, the company is involved in major projects like the building of a hotel at their Beacon Bay Crossing site, the building of new office park at their Waverley Park complex and the multi-storey state-ofthe-art Bhisho office park precinct. A visit to the sites this week by a Dispatch team showed that the construction sites were abandoned, with a handful of staff clearing sites.
“Those projects will unfortunately stop because we are, among other things struggling with approval of plans and sewerage at the municipality,” said Shaw.
Asked if they had decided to leave town, Shaw would not comment but said they were looking at Gauteng.
SKG is one of the companies earning millions of rands through renting out properties to government in the province.
It currently rents out office space to 14 government institutions in the Eastern Cape. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za