
JOHANNESBURG - The South African Typographical Union (SATU) on Thursday said it was "disappointed" by the process undertaken by Tiso Blackstar to cut jobs.
Earlier this week, striking staff at Tiso Blackstar were sent an email which advised them of pending retrenchments.
"You will no doubt be aware that the company is proposing a broad restructuring of its editorial operations as a result of the economic headwinds facing the business in the form of lower advertising and circulation revenue," said the email written by Andy Gill, Tiso Blackstar managing director.
"While it is unfortunate that this is likely to result in job losses, the sustainability of the division remains our most important objective. The fact is that we are operating in a much changed operating environment which our business has to adapt to if it is to remain profitable and relevant.
"The company has issued Section 189A notices to all editorial staff in the Sowetan, Dispatch and Herald newsrooms as well as the editorial production staff in the business media stream."
Reacting to the notification, SATU said it was of the opinion that such drastic measures were hasty.
"SATU had already been served with a notice in terms of Section 189A of the Labour Relations Act, Act 66 of 1995 as amended by management and engagements were ongoing," said the union in a statement.