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Johannesburg - Two labour unions are supporting the beleaguered South African Post Office (Sapo) administration technical team while the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has been noticeably absent from discussions.
Sapo has said it met with the South African Postal and Allied Workers Union (Sapawu) and the Democratic Postal and Communications Union (Depacu) on February 23 2015 to discuss the Post Office’s turnaround efforts.
In November 2014, government appointed Dr Simo Lushaba as an administrator to spearhead a turnaround at the state-owned Post Office.
Sapo struggled with a crippling three month strike last year in which around 7 900 Sapo casual workers stopped working amid their demands for an 8% wage hike and permanent employment.
Sapo also expects to report a R1.3bn loss in March owing to issues such as fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Meanwhile, the Post Office has further asked government for a R2.3bn bailout.
But Sapo is tackling its problems, say officials. On Tuesday, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Siyabonga Cwele said a turnaround at Sapo is expected to be completed this month.
In addition, Sapawu and Depacu have expressed support for the turnaround process this week.
“Whilst appreciating the challenges within our environment, which include the salary increases, the conversion of casual workers to permanent positions and the improvement of the overall workplace, we are firmly committed to playing our part in contributing positively to the current efforts of stabilising the SA Post Office and turning its fortunes around as that will add value to the livelihoods of our members,” said President of Sapawu, Andrew Sithole, in a statement.
Alfred Msito, President of Depacu, said in a statement, “Our members have given us the mandate to stake our claim in ensuring that a lasting solution is derived for the SA Post Office, while also ensuring that they are in a better position to transform their lives and those of their families. With honest partnerships, all this is achievable and we owe it to all our constituencies.”
Dr Lushaba added, “We remain committed towards implementing this agreement. The sooner we improve on our financial situation, the sooner we will be able to implement the agreement.”
CWU noticeably absent
The Communication Workers Union (CWU), though, has not joined other unions in expressing support for Sapo’s administrative technical team.
CWU was a key player in last year’s Sapo strike along with Sapawu and Depacu.
And CWU President, Clyde Mervin, told Fin24 on Tuesday that no discussions between his union and Sapo have taken place.
"You'll recall that we have not signed an agreement with the post office on salary negotiations,” Mervin told Fin24 on Tuesday.
CWU is demanding 15% salary increases which are backdated in addition to converting casual and agency workers into permanent positions.
The CWU is further calling for the reattachment of salaries for over 500 workers who were dismissed last year, Mervin told Fin24.
In a separate statement earlier this year, CWU called for the immediate removal of Dr Lushaba as the administrator at Sapo.
“He is proving incompetent to execute the mandate for which he was appointed by government,” said CWU.
“Further to that, this character guy is a serious liability and a threat to the existence and the very survival of Sapo as he cost the company R16.6m to R20m just in three months in consultants' fees as compared to the R5m per annum which is what it cost the taxpayers to maintain the Board,” added CWU.
CWU’s Mervin told Fin24 on Tuesday that his union also plans to stage picketing at post offices and Telkom outlets across the country on Wednesday during lunch hour.
Sapo in turn said it has not received a 48 hour notice of the action while it added that any strike action would be deemed "illegal".
