SABC News reports that Labour unions at the Post Office say they are very unhappy with the government and the business rescue practitioners. Speaking at an oversight meeting of the parliamentary committee on communications and digital technologies, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) says it warned several government administrations that if there was no intervention at the Post Office, the government company would find itself in the state it is in now.

CWU’s Nathan Bouwers told the committee that it has failed in its oversight over different administrations and called for the committee to do better under the government of national unity.

The South African Post Office was placed under business rescue in July 2023. The business rescue practitioners of the Post Office asked for R3.8 billion to ensure that the struggling state-owned entity does not collapse. The Communications Workers Union has called for the committee to support the plan to rescue the Post Office is unworkable because it needs a cash injection.

“That plan is unworkable, of course, the plan is unworkable because it needs the money to move the plan, chair the plan is there, it needs the money to move it, now there are rumblings in the workplace, the workers are rumbling, the workers are not happy, they said to tell those people that we are not happy, I am a messenger of the workers. If you give us R2 billion maybe we can start to pay the workers on their provident fund, remember,” says Bouwers.

Democratic Postal and Communications Union (DEPACU) says the retrenchment of workers did not turn around the Post Office.

“There was a plan which was put in place which was adopted by creditors which was a plan to turn around the Post Office, we did not agree with some of the things, one of the fundamental things we did not agree with was the cutting of 7 000 workers. If there is no business and revenue, you are not doing anything,” says Kodisang Bokaba from DEPACU.

Also presenting to the same committee, Post Office HR consultant Mandla Ndaba said following the retrenchment of staff, internal staff were appointed to positions in the new structure.

He says worker morale has been a roller coaster due to the uncertainty about the future of the company and no growth in salaries. He told the committee that there have been interventions in terms of training to give staff new skills and introducing programmes for employee wellbeing.

by Glorious Sefako-Musi