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Where the blame lies for Post Office debacle

Cape Town -  The eleven-week Post Office strike is not a cause of the dire state this institution finds itself in.  It is, rather, a symptom of years of mismanagement, corruption and fraud, says Terry Bell in his latest Labour Wrap.

This view of the labour movement, he says, is backed up by years of evidence brought forward by the unions which has often been accompanied by protests, including a formal complaint to the public protector in 2011.

According to the largest of the three unions in the Post Office, the Communication Workers’ Union, R2.1bn has been misappropriated.  A Special Investigations Unit probe launched earlier this year is also looking into corruption that includes the “unlawful appropriation or expenditure of public money”.

In the wake of a leaked audit report last week that revealed probable fraud of R10m at a time when the Post Office board was paid R4.6m, Communications Minister Siyabonga Cwele intervened. He has apparently brokered a deal whereby the unions will be offered a 6.5% pay rise.

Watch:


While the intervention of the minister has been, in general, cautiously welcomed, many workers are wary, says Bell.  They worry that government did not intervene much more strongly - and earlier.  And they feel that issues of pay and conditions should be negotiated through the bargaining council.

However, the strike seems to be drawing to an end and the future of the Post Office is very much on the agenda.  Bell says it has clearly lost its way, probably been heavily plundered and could be on the brink of terminal decline.


He agrees with the unions that this would be a tragedy, and that an efficient Post Office providing a range of services is an essential public service.  Its demise would cause still more suffering for the poor, especially in the rural areas.

* Share your thoughts or simply ask Bell a labour question.

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