Strike threatens Sapo’s turnaround plan, says CEO
THE South African Post Office (Sapo) is pulling out all stops to avert a strike that CEO Mark Barnes warns could sound the death knell for the company. The strike could undermine Sapo’s attempt to nail down the funding required for its turnaround plan, Mr Barnes said. The company had so far raised R1.8bn of the R2.7bn it required, with the government injecting R650m as a contribution.
CAPE TOWN — The South African Post Office (Sapo) management is pulling out all stops to avert an employee strike that CEO Mark Barnes warns could sound the death knell for the company.
“We just don’t need a strike and I hope we can avert it,” he said in an interview yesterday.
The strike could undermine Sapo’s attempt to nail down the funding required for its turnaround plan, Mr Barnes said.
The company had so far raised R1.8bn of the R2.7bn it required, with the government injecting R650m as a contribution.
“I am very disappointed they have decided on strike action — if they do — as we are in the final throes of our capital raising and the one thing that could upset all that is if we have a strike on our hands,” Mr Barnes said.
“We are hoping they will not go on strike and will have the patience and show the maturity we need to show the world in order to raise the capital to pay for these things.”
Communication Workers Union president Clyde Mervin said the strike would take place on May 5 and 6 and would continue indefinitely if Sapo management did not respond positively to the trade union’s demands.
The union is demanding wage hikes that have not been forthcoming for the past two years. The last prolonged strike in 2013 was devastating for Sapo, which has still not recovered the business it lost.
Revenue declined by about 30% and corporate clients, which provide the bulk of its business, found alternatives for their deliveries, as mail went undelivered.
The irony is that the company does not have money to pay for increases partly because the business was run down by financial mismanagement, but also because of the effects of the last strike. Mr Barnes said the union was going on strike over the same issues as in the previous strike including wage increases, equal pay for equal work and the conversion of casual employees to permanent staff.
Mr Barnes said workers had a “valid expectation that part of the money we raise will be used to fund this”. The turnaround plan included dealing with worker demands and the board had approved a proposal for a package to deal with future wage increases. This would form the basis of negotiations with the trade union.
“It is just around the corner, but I am not going to make promises unless I have the money beforehand. The cost is included in the capital we hope to raise.”
He planned to appeal directly to the company’s 22,000-odd workers. Workers needed to understand that they and management had to work together to find solutions, Mr Barnes said.
“I hope to convince employees that that is what we are trying to do and we have never been closer to a financial solution for the Post Office than we are today.”