#SABC8 establish fund

767 2016.07.28 A fund to assist nine fired ANN7 staff members has been established to assist them with their legal fees. Picture:Bhekikhaya Mabaso

767 2016.07.28 A fund to assist nine fired ANN7 staff members has been established to assist them with their legal fees. Picture:Bhekikhaya Mabaso

Published Jul 29, 2016

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Johannesburg - A fund in honour of the journalists fired at the SABC has been established to assist others in the profession who are in need.

On Thursday, the seven fired SABC employees returned to work after being reinstated by the Labour Court in Joburg this week.

Economics editor Thandeka Gqubule said they were welcomed peacefully on their return to work.

“We went in and found our colleagues wearing black in solidarity. We were so happy to see these colleagues, who have supported us from inside,” she said, adding that the reception from management was “professional, cordial and warm”.

The seven journalists and inde-pendent contractor Vuyo Mvoko have received the Nat Nakasa Award for Media Integrity from the South African National Editors' Forum.

“We hope we will never live to disappoint the ideals of that award and the ideals that Nat Nakasa strived and lived for,” Gqubule said.

And because of “the tough times journalists face”, she added, they had decided to start a media organisation, called SABC 8 Fund for the Protection of Journalists.

“It will be disbursed to journalists in need of legal protection, social support and psychological support. We are beneficiaries of so much largesse,” she added.

Journalists and members of the public can contribute money to the fund, which will be held through a set of attorneys still to be appointed, Gqubule said.

“Each year, we will choose according to the journalists who need it most. The journalists who need it mostly now are our colleagues from ANN7, who were summarily dismissed,” she said.

The ANN7 employees were fired three months ago for chasing away ANC Youth League president Collen Maine from their offices in April.

Maine had tried to address the staff members after an open letter was written to the country’s four major banks requesting them to restore relations with companies owned by the Gupta family.

The employees, including camera operators and make-up artists, have turned to the CCMA for assistance.

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The Star

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