SABC employees must once again pay the price for poor management decisions
12 November 2018
Solidarity today said that employees must once again be on the receiving end of poor management decisions and plundering at the SABC that are paralysing the SABC. Solidarity also said that it intends to challenge the retrenchment process that has now been embarked upon at the SABC. This comes after SABC employees had been informed on 29 October of a retrenchment process the SABC would undertake and in which up to 981 employees and around 1 200 freelance employees stand to lose their jobs.
Among other things, the wrongful conduct of the previous executive management is cited as reason for the retrenchments. According to Anton van der Bijl, head of labour law services at Solidarity, it is outrageous that someone like Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who cost the SABC millions, gets away with it. “The retrenchment process the SABC is embarking on is ridiculous, to say the least. Employees had to pay the highest price for management’s decisions during the entire Hlaudi Motsoeneng dictatorship debacle.
It seems like employees now have to pay a further price for these decisions while the persons who took those decisions have not paid a cent for it up to now. I really cannot see how the SABC can proceed with such a process before they have not first exhausted all alternatives to prevent such a process. For example, such steps would include suing Motsoeneng for the money that was squandered,” Van der Bijl said.
Van der Bijl furthermore stated that this process is materially unprocedural and substantially unfair towards SABC employees. “Legislation prescribes certain procedural requirements for notification and consultation purposes, which include the right of a trade union representing members to participate in such a process. To date, Solidarity, which does indeed represent members at the SABC, has been totally ignored in the process,” Van der Bijl confirmed.
Issued by Anton van der Bijl Head Labour Law Services, Solidarity, 12 November 2018
