Union ‘shocked’ at looming SABC retrenchments
The Broadcasting Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union (Bemawu) says it’s shocked to learn of the SABC’s plans to retrench at least 600 employees.
On Thursday, the public broadcaster announced plans to cut down its workforce in the face of financial hurdles.
READ: SABC set to shed 600 jobs
But Bemawu president Hannes du Buisson says the timing couldn’t be worse.
“We had a meeting with the SABC two weeks ago and a follow-up meeting last week. The purpose and the subject of that meeting was a revised business model.
“Never in any of those presentations did the SABC ever indicate that they have plans to get rid of people, to start a retrenchment process.
"It is only indecently that in last week’s presentation that we saw in last week’s presentation slide that referred to unsustainable employee costs.”
Buisson says the SABC’s conduct leaves much to be desired.
“Our concern is that last week the SABC appointed people from outside the SABC in three managerial positions that come with quite a high salary.
“That is not the conduct of a business that is in trouble financially.”
The union says it plans to engage with the broadcaster through legal channels.
“If they would have wanted to follow a non-confrontational process then they would have taken us into their confidence,” Du Buisson adds.
“We are now entering into a legal process with the SABC which constitutes consultations.”
In 2019, the SABC abandoned plans to retrench over 2000 workers.
