Almost 1000 SABC employees could be retrenched

Due to its financial woes, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has envisaged that 981 employees may possibly be retrenched as a result of the restructuring, across all the business units and operations of the broadcaster.

In a statement, the broadcaster’s spokesperson Neo Momodu said the possible retrenchment would affect 1,200 freelancers out of 2,400.

“This exercise should result in a cost saving of approximately R440 million per annum, even at this preliminary stage. This amount excludes the projected cost savings from the planned reduction of freelancers,” Momodu said.

The broadcaster issued a notice to its entire staff on Monday informing them of the intention to proceed with section 189 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) which deals with retrenchments.

Momodu said the broadcaster met with organised labour on October 12 to engage on the LRA’s section 189.

“At this meeting, it was agreed that the LRA’s section 189 notice will be put in abeyance until further details as requested by organised labour were made available.

“The meeting also agreed to the appointment of a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) facilitator who will foresee the consultation process.”

SABC CEO Madoda Mxakwe said the broadcaster was “technically insolvent” and not able to fulfil its monthly and financial obligations.

Mxakwe said it was currently engaging with different stakeholders on issues such as government guarantees, as well as asking financial institutions about the possibility of extending the SABC’s borrowing limit.

“But I do need to put it on record that the threat of commercial insolvency is increasing significantly,” said the broadcaster’s CEO.

Mxakwe said the wage bill at the SABC was sitting at R3.1 billion and the corporation’s expenditure was at R7.2 billion.

This, Mxakwe said, was not sustainable, which has led the broadcaster to engage with organised labour on the restructure.

Mxakwe said the total cost to company of the SABC’s three executive directors stood at R12.5 million (0.4% of the broadcaster’s overall wage bill).

The total cost to company of the group exco, Mxakwe said, stood at R25 million, with freelancers costing the corporation R500 million per annum.

The SABC has an estimated five layers of management, with about 495 managers, with the cost to company standing at R630 million, Mxakwe said.

Adding junior managers to this ballooned the R630 million to R1 billion per annum, he added.

The broadcaster’s CFO, Yolande van Biljon, said the SABC’s main source of income was advertising, and that its revenue was anticipated to be an estimated R570 million less than what had been budgeted.

Van Biljon said the SABC’s permanent and non-permanent costs amounted to 43% of the SABC’s expenses.

ANC secretary general Ace Magashule said the governing party was against the possible retrenchments at the broadcaster. Instead, the ANC had called for a dialogue between the department of communication and the SABC to preserve jobs.

Magashule said the broadcaster’s employees needed to be at the forefront in the fight against retrenchments.

The DA’s Phumzile Van Damme accused the SABC of failing to conduct a proper employee audit ahead of the section 189 process.

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