SABC calls off retrenchment plan

“In the interest of the SABC, its employees, key stakeholders and the South African public at large, the SABC has decided not to renew the notice to invoke section 189 of the LRA,” reads part of the statement.

Unions protested last year and handed over a memorandum of demands to the SABC’s Group CEO Madoda Mxakwe, giving the broadcaster seven days to reverse the decision it announced in 2018 to retrench employees.

Faced with bloated staff numbers, a high wage bill and the consequences of the millions of rands squandered during Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s tenure as chief operating officer, the cash-strapped SABC announced plans to retrench about 1,000 staff and 1,200 freelancers.

These plans were suspended earlier this month, and they have now been completely abandoned.

The announcement to abandon the plans comes after “constructive and extensive engagements with various stakeholders, including the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications, Organised Labour and our own employees,” stated the SABC.

“All our stakeholders acknowledge the need to review the increase in costs, including the compensation bill, hence the need to conduct a thorough skills audit and related activities. The outcome will provide the SABC with a fit-for-purpose structure, with clearly defined span of control, appropriate layers of management and appropriate skills and competencies for roles. This will ensure that the SABC meets its strategic objective of operating optimally and competitively in a digitised environment,” concluded the statement.