Durban - The Communication Workers’ Union has said it will take action to “ensure no jobs are lost” after the South African Post Office (Sapo) announced that it was contemplating reducing staff numbers.
The union said the proposed retrenchments could see 6 000 jobs lost, leaving hundreds of thousands of families without breadwinners.
In response, Sapo spokesperson Johan Kruger confirmed that the entity was in consultation with labour unions.
“The Post Office brought this matter to the table in November 2022. The first letter to the unions to introduce the Section 189 (retrenchment) process was in November 2022. Prior to that, there have been a number of engagements with all unions recognised at the SA Post Office, considering and exploring the various options to reduce the high cost of employment. These engagements still continue,” he said.
Kruger added that salary costs made up 68% of total expenditure and had to be addressed urgently.
“The SA Post Office last posted a profit in 2004, and the decline in its financial position began as far back as 2006. The economic recession in 2008 and adoption of smartphones accelerated the decline,” he said.
Kruger said the outcome of a protracted strike in 2014 had led to a bloated structure. “The Post Office ended the strike by terminating the agreement with labour brokers and absorbing 8 250 part-time workers into the SA Post Office, despite the fact that there were no full-time jobs for them,” he said.
Aubrey Tshabalala, general secretary of the Communication Workers’ Union, said they rejected the move by Sapo.
“There are at least 12 000 Sapo workers and if this retrenchment goes ahead we could see about 6 000 jobs lost. You can imagine how many families would be losing a breadwinner,” he said.
Tshabalala added that embarking on strike action would be a last resort.
“We are willing to engage with the employer as we don’t want to strike and we don’t want to see thousands of employees lose their jobs. There has not been enough money put into upgrading the infrastructure of the Sapo, and that is why we see that they are in this financial predicament. Post office workers have suffered and we will take action to ensure no jobs are lost.”
A post office worker from KwaZuluNatal, who spoke to The Mercury on condition of anonymity, said he did not know how he would survive if he was retrenched.
“I have a family to support and I have been struggling due to the rising cost of living. If I had to lose my job I don’t know how I would support my family. If the retrenchments had to go ahead, just think about how many households would be affected,” he said.
Dianne Kohler Barnard, DA spokesperson on communications, said the party condemned the plan to retrench 6 000 of its employees.
“The cutting of these jobs will have a major impact on not only the employees, but also the communities who desperately depend on the post office to collect their grants and parcels.”