National Press Club calls on Independent Media to honour employees severance agreements

The National Press Club (NPC) has called on Independent Media to honour the severance agreements made with employees after a number of staff members were retrenched to cut its wage bill.

The publisher of The Cape Times, The Star, Isolezwe and The Mercury has retrenched 128 employees to save on its wage costs.

The newspaper group, an indirect subsidiary of Iqbal Survé‘s Sekunjalo group, warned of the “harsh reality of job reductions” in June amid falling advertising and dwindling circulation figures, according to News24.

Severance packages

The NPC said it has noted with “great concern and indignation the retrenchments of staff” at Independent Media.

“Of great concern to the National Press Club is the fact that retrenched employees have not been paid their severance packages, but instead provided with R2 500 food vouchers,” said NPC chair Antoinette Slabbert.

“We do not, as a matter of emphasis and principle, comment each time employers retrench staff, but we are extremely perplexed with this matter and the failure by the employer to respect the rights of retrenched staff members.”

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Dignity

Slabbert has called on the Independent Media to ensure that the rights of the retrenched staff are respected and their dignity not compromised.

 “We extend messages of support to affected employees and would like to assure them of our undivided support during this uncertain period, given the state of our economy.

“In the same vein, we call on employers to work closely with the National Press Club as they post future vacancies to enable the re-entry of the retrenched colleagues into the system,” added Slabbert.

The NPC also encouraged affected individuals to continue working closely with all industry formations for any future employment possibilities and enlist the support of institutions like LifeLine and other similar organisations to support them in “this hour of need and uncertainty”.

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