SABC may issue retrenchment letters by February

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) may issue retrenchment letters to workers at the beginning of February next year. This will be done if the 60-day consultation process with unions and other stakeholders doesn’t produce alternative cost-cutting measures.

The SABC says the consultation process, in line with Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, will start next Tuesday. It’ll be facilitated by the CCMA.

The public broadcaster intends to lay off 981 permanent staff. It also plans to cut down drastically on its use of freelancers.

SABC management says due to the current financial crisis facing the corporation, it may be forced to lay-off staff to save costs. It says through these retrenchments, it’ll be able to save about R440-million per annum.

SABC Group Executive Human Resources, Jonathan Thekiso, says should the retrenchments go ahead  staff will be notified at the beginning of February next year.

“The duration of the consultation process is legislated at 60 days. So 60 days from the 13th of November and at the end of the consultation session is only when we will be in a position to conclude on the process and from the beginning of February we will then start issuing notice letters that is if the organisation intends to proceed with the retrenchment process.”

During the 60-day consultation process the SABC and workers unions, MWASA, BEMAWU and  Communications Workers Union (CWU) must attempt to find ways of avoiding or minimising the number of people, who may lose their jobs.

But if this isn’t achieved, they need to take measures to mitigate the effects of retrenchment and agree about the method for the selection of employees to be dismissed, and severance pay.

Thekiso says the SABC is currently looking at ways of restructuring all departments as another cost-cutting measure.

“All that we are looking at right now is a reduction of the number of layers of management, as well as looking at the span of control of the respective divisions. So this affects all divisions within the SABC, but these are matters that are going to form part of the first consultation meeting which is going to be held on the 13th.”

SABC worker unions are opposed to retrenchments. CWU secretary, Aubrey Tshabalala says the organisation should discuss their turnaround strategy with unions.

“We know about a turn around strategy which they did not present to us. We think the first route is that you engage on a turn around strategy, you listen to the alternative voice. There is a number of way to keep the SABC sustainable financially because we don’t want a situation where you will from time to time asking for a bail out from government. One of those things is to deal with the issues of levy coming from the DTT’s in terms of digital broadcasting. The second point is that at the ANC conference there was this resolution that was made of increasing the subsidy of the SABC to 40% amongst others.”

Tshabalala says they’ll also engage the SABC about the non-renewal of freelance contracts.

“We’ve seen the numbers and remember when you go to the process of retrenchment, you have to identify people, you have to identify departments, you have to have a rational why are these people are being targeted. SABC has just put a blanket to say between them the so called freelancers, the permanent workers – these are the numbers. What we also want to dismiss is that there is this notion that freelancers have no rights as workers. Freelancers in terms of this labour relation’s act have equal rights with so called permanent workers. On those basis we are going to fight this head on.”

The organisation’s most financially turbulent times recently was when Hlaudi Motsoeneng was COO. A Public Protector’s report identified several irregular appointments, promotions and salary increases. This cost the SABC millions of rand.

BEMAWU president, Hannes du Buisson says the unions also helped to expose these irregularities.

“The whole situation as it played out is as a result of us complaining about what went on at the time at SABC. It is us who exposed all of the irregular contracts, the TV licence people that has been appointed, the vision view set, all of that information is a document that we compiled which we then submitted to the portfolio committee and also two internal audits.”

Communications minister, Nomvula Mokonyane, has criticised the SABC Board over the possible retrenchments. The minister’s spokesperson, Mlimandlela Ndimase says Mokonyane has committed to helping the SABC develop a sustainable plan to avoid retrenchments.

“The Minister has stated her commitment to assist the SABC looking at the funding model supported in its turn around plan and strategies, but has also insisted that in order to make sure that we do develop a sustainable turn around plan, we must bring on board the national treasury, the department of communications so that there is partnership with all the necessary stakeholders, especially the shareholder in ensuring that the turn around plan presented is sustainable and it is indeed a turn around plan that will deliver us into an SABC of the future.”

SABC CEO, Madoda Mxakwe, says the SABC has begun to see positive green shoots  as shown by modest improvement in revenue growth of 6%, quarter to quarter.

Mxakwe adds that cost containment year-to-date is 12% below budget which represents saving R463-million.