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Wildcat strike costs SA Post Office R103m

Johannesburg - The consequences of an illegal SA Post Office (Sapo) strike have been significantly curtailed, the company said on Tuesday.

"The SA Post Office has significantly reduced the mail backlog which resulted in a revenue loss of R97m and R6m in overtime, and anticipates clearing the remainder of the backlog within a few working days," it said in a statement.

Sapo said it had been working to reduce the backlog and restore services since the beginning of the strike.

Group CEO Christopher Hlekane said: "This resulted from contingency plans, which involve employees and volunteers working around the clock."

Capacity at the Tshwane mail centre, in Pretoria, had reached usual levels, and operations at the Witspos mail centre had also significantly improved, owing to replacement workers and extended work shifts.

"As a result, six million processed mail items were dispatched [by] Witspos yesterday [Monday]," Sapo said.

A total of 588 Sapo workers were dismissed following an illegal strike caused by a fake court document which stated that workers were owed significant amounts of money. The company said it did not owe employees any money.

"This saddens me, as part of my strategy is to ensure a closer proximity between our operations as well as our customers," Hlekane said.

"Unfortunately this strike, which is both illegal and unrelated to our operations, has resulted in the adverse impact towards our customers, culminating in tangible business loss."

He said the employee responsible for the misinformation and fraudulent campaign had been arrested.

The company said it dismissed the striking workers in Gauteng after unsuccessful efforts to end the strike.

"This step became unavoidable after the striking workers failed to heed ultimatums in respect of presenting themselves for work by 08:00 on March 13 2013."

The company apologised to its customers for the inconvenience, said Hlekane.

Ealier on Tuesday, Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini has cautioned dismissed SA Post Office (Sapo) workers in Johannesburg to be wary of divisions as they seek to be reinstated.

"Be careful of the wedge-driver. He is a person who walks among us carrying a wedge in his toolbox," Dlamini told dismissed workers outside Sapo's Witspos distribution centre on Tuesday.

He said when workers demanded something, it was not because they were mad, but rather because something had gone wrong.

A total of 588 Sapo workers were dismissed following an illegal strike caused by a fake court document which stated workers were owed significant amounts of money.

The workers are seeking to be reinstated to their old positions and given money they believe they are owed.

Dlamini said the Congress of SA Trade Unions could not sit quietly when such a large number of workers were dismissed.

Before he started speaking to workers, the Cosatu president was greeted with a cheer.

When Zanele Mpho, the deputy president of the Communication Workers Union, was introduced to the crowd, she was greeted with jeers.

After he addressed the crowd, Dlamini and Cosatu Gauteng chairperson Bothas Zingi listened to and made notes of workers' concerns.

One man, when it was his turn to speak, said he was "disgusted" to see CWU representation present.

Those concerns included dissatisfaction with CWU, backpay owed, and an opportunity to elect new union officials at all levels.

Dlamini said he understood worker concerns surrounding CWU - if legitimate - and the federation would work towards addressing them.

Workers indicated before Dlamini arrived that they were not interested in official union involvement.

The situation appeared to change after Dlamini's intervention.


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