Plan to slash jobs is illegal, say unions

The ANC has told the SABC leadership to reconsider plans to retrench 600 permanent workers and 1 200 freelancers as part of a restructuring process.

ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte and the party’s communications subcommittee chairperson Nkenke Kekana met a delegation led by SABC board chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini and the corporation’s CEO, Madoda Mxakwe, this week.

“The delegation presented their turnaround strategy and one striking mention made was that they did not have a good sales team for advertising. We asked them to reconsider the retrenchment on the basis that, if they improved advertising, they could afford it,” said ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe.

“We impressed on them to reconsider their retrenchment plans and prepare the SABC to launch digital terrestrial television where, according to their initial plans, 18 channels will be available free to air to all South Africans without paying a fee.”

This as the unions and parliament’s portfolio committee on communications were opposing the job cuts in a bid for SABC to reduce the salary bill by R700-million. SABC insiders told Sunday World that Mxakwe and Makhathini explained to the ANC that trimming the broadcaster’s headcount was part of the conditions attached to the R3.2-billion bailout received from the National Treasury.

This came as the process to cut staff looked set to end up in court after the SABC management rejected demands by unions to halt the restructuring process pending the completion of a skills audit, among others. In a confidential letter to the public broadcaster’s head of human resources, Mojaki Mosia, union leaders demanded this week that the public broadcaster stop the retrenchment process, arguing it was illegal.

Hannes du Boisson, the president of the Broadcasting, Electronic, Media & Allied Workers Union, said the SABC had failed to consult its workers on its restructuring process before issuing a section 189 notice of pending retrenchments.

SABC spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo told Sunday World: “We can confirm that as an institution playing a critical role within the society we have been engaging with various stakeholders including labour and political parties to share progress on the implementation of the turnaround plan, the utilisation of the bailout funds, the new target operating model and other related matter.”