The National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW) has lambasted the ruling African National Congress (ANC) as a government that doesn’t care about its state-owned enterprises and other public institutions.
The union has expressed outrage over the recent South African Post Office retrenchment. About 4 7000 retrenchment letters have been issued and sent to workers by the Post Office.
According to the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, some 235 post offices are set to close across the country.
The union’s general secretary, Solly Malema, says they believe that the retrenchments can be prevented.
“In our view, the Post Office can be saved and what is happening in all state-owned enterprises is deliberate so that they are privatised. There is no consequence management at the Post Office. If you remember in 2016, they hired someone who managed to ensure that (the) Post Office returned to positive equity. So, you need people who are capable and have the skills to run the organisation. Unemployment has reached unprecedented levels in the country. Instead of the government party creating jobs, they are destroying jobs, and the useless minister wants to be praised for putting the Post Office under business rescue for what? When he’s sending 5 000 people home to starve…?”
PODCAST | NUPSAW outraged over retrenchment:
Retrenchment packages
Meanwhile, Post Office workers who have been retrenched say they have been let down by the entity, government and their union representatives.
They are demanding that all their retrenchment packages be paid in full and not over a period of eight to 10 months.
The Post Office has said it will make payments to workers in instalments as soon as it gets money from National Treasury.
More details in the report below:
