The SABC says the current skills audit has nothing to do with its intention to retrench staff but rather a bloated workforce necessitates the need for job cuts.
On Wednesday, the SABC Board and Executives tried to make its case before Parliament’s Communications Portfolio Committee to begin the section 189 process to retrench staff on the 1st of July.
SABC COO Ian Plaatjies says the current management inherited a bloated workforce and it is imperative to ensure that those employed have the necessary skills to perform their jobs.
Plaatjies says, “We have inherited a bloated work structure, now it is important to differentiate between a bloated structure and incorrect skills or lack of skills. No matter how much we reskill people we will still have a bloated structure…”
“So when we look at the skills audit it is not a prerequisite to a 189 process, the skills audit will enable us to develop an adequate talent management process and certainly a skills development plan and retrenchment plan,” added Plaatjies.
The SABC recently sent a Section 189 notice to staff saying it was contemplating possible retrenchments of as many as 600 full-time employees and could terminate 1 200 freelance contracts.
The SABC executives told the committee that they expect a 400% increase in losses as the country battles COVID-19.
SABC Chief Financial Officer Yolande van Biljon told Parliament’s Communications Committee that the public broadcaster has addressed most of the low hanging fruit when it comes to cost-cutting and the salary bill now needs to be tackled.
Van Biljon has told the committee that the public broadcaster has to do what is necessary, even if it is very painful.
SABC GCEO Madoda Mxakwe says the public broadcaster needs about R1 billion to avoid looming retrenchments.
The SABC last week announced that it was trying to turn the broadcaster into a financially stable and self-sufficient organisation.
Mxakwe says the SABC needs urgent financial assistance from the government in order to avert job cuts.
While addressing parliament’s communications committee during an online meeting, Mxakwe said the SABC’s problems had to be dealt with urgently.
He said, “I don’t need to emphasise that we are not being alarmist when we say we have to deal with the cost of the employees in the organisation. The monthly salary bill is becoming more and more unattainable for the SABC. This is caused by the fact that there has been a huge decline in our revenue because most of our clients are not investing the way they normally do… We have to take the tough decision of dealing with the high compensation base.”
The Committee told the SABC Board and Executives to embark on a consultation and reskilling process before going ahead with retrenchments.
SABC Executive appears before Parliament:
No to retrenchments’
Earlier, Deputy Communications Minister Pinky Kekana objected to any retrenchments at the public broadcaster.
Democratic Alliance Committee Member, Phumzile van Damme, has told the SABC executives that the skills audit process should be completed before any retrenchments are considered.
Van Damme says SABC staffers are very worried.
“We have a letter that was sent to us from the SABC Editorial staff and it’s very concerning there are concerns that staff were not consulted and were not given back feedback of the audit. You need to go. You need to finish the audit and take the staff with you. There is a lot of competing interest. They must be able to self-sustain, two staff members, can I request that when you deal with processes deal with it with dignity aware of the anxiety … so where are these people going to get their jobs.”
