SABC unions plan to save jobs
Unions argue that job losses are avoidable
Unions at the SABC want the public broadcaster to opt to release 450 employees over the age of 55 on early retirement and avoid painful retrenchments.
This is one of the alternatives unions have put on the table.
They have until Friday to make written submissions and have since dropped their court action and believe that the retrenchments of 600 permanent employees are avoidable.
The unions believe that through workers approaching their retirement age and normal resignations, the SABC could easily achieve the lean workforce it is targetting through the retrenchments.
The SABC wants to trim its workforce to about 3,050 employees and cut its salary bill.
President of the Broadcasting, Electronic, Media and Allied Workers Union (Bemawu), Hannes du Buisson, said it would cost the SABC nothing if staff close to their retirement age went into early retirement.
“The SABC is saying early retirements will cost it R137m. It can never be. This is one of the issues we have consulted on [with the SABC],” he said.
Du Buisson argued that the SABC has also not budgeted for the costly retrenchments, which could cost as much as R173m for voluntary packages, according to documents presented to them during the section 189 consultations.
The figures were presented by the SABC during the consultations that were facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration last month, which showed that the public broadcaster had 453 permanent employees over the age of 55. Ten of them are on fixed-term contracts.
For one to qualify for early retirement, they need to be aged 50 and above, with 10 years of service at the SABC.
The SABC refused to comment on alternatives that have been presented by the unions, saying it had duly complied with all the prescripts of the
Labour Relations Act in relation to retrenchments.
The corporation received numerous submissions on the communicated submission date of 26 October 2020, with various stakeholders requesting further extensions to improve on their submissions. In appreciation of thewillingness to engage meaningfully with matters listed in section 189(2) of the Labour Relations Act, the SABC provided all stakeholders, including Bemawu, with an additional five (5) working days to make further and final representations,” SABC acting spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo said.
“In this regard all submissions must be received before end of business, Friday 6 November 2020. Therefore it will be premature for the SABC to make any public pronouncements on issues of section 189(2).”
Communications Workers Union’s secretary Aubrey Tshabalala said SABC’s own figures presented to unions already showed that by next year, the staff reduction it seeks through retrenchments would be achieved through retirements.
“There’s just no way that the SABC and us [unions] will find each other here as they are adamant that retrenchments have to go ahead,” he said.