Talk radio station 702 top talents Joanne Joseph and Aki Anastasiou allegedly had to put up a fight against station manager Thabisile Mbete after they were asked to leave the station without a cent in what was termed a repositioning of the station.
This comes after the two presenters were allegedly given conflicting messages by Mbete, who allegedly assured them of job safety amid retrenchments at Primedia that are targeting about 70 employees. It has emerged that Joseph and Anastasiou were involved in a labour dispute with the station over the handling of their exit at the station.
This was allegedly because Mbete had asked Anastasiou to take a 40% salary cut and then had changed her mind before eventually deciding he and Joseph had to exit the station. Sunday World has learnt through several officials and presenters at the station that Joseph and Anastasiou did not leave the station of their own accord, but were chucked out by Mbete, who is now being accused of using the retrenchments to allegedly target people she does not agree with.
A radio presenter close to the two talents revealed that Joseph was initially told by Mbete that her job was safe because her show was doing well. However, those close to her and the station said she was later handed a retrenchment letter by Mbete.
This development, according to the presenter, ignited a labour dispute between the station and Joseph because the station did not want to pay her for the remainder of her contract, which only ends in June 2021.
The presenter said it was only after Joseph hired a labour lawyer that Primedia allegedly acknowledged it had flouted the labour laws and agreed to pay her seven months’ salary for terminating her contract. In Anastasiou’s case, staff said he was initially informed he was going to be retrenched but then the station manager allegedly changed her mind after the radio presenter challenged the decision, highlighting the flouting of labour laws and the retrenchment process.
Those close to the presenter said Anastasiou had used the services of two labour lawyers to fight his unprocedural retrenchment. The sources said the station later made a U-turn, only for it to go back on its word and served Anastasiou with a retrenchment letter. This, the sources said, happened after Mbete coined a new phrase called repositioning.
They said she was using this to get rid of staff she does not get along with. They added that Joseph and Anastasiou were casualties of Mbete’s repositioning concept. “She did not have any reason to get rid of them, so she had to find one, and the retrenchment drive presented her with such an opportunity,” said one of the presenters. The decision to let go of Anastasiou and Joseph has not gone down well with the station’s listeners, who have demanded on social media that Mbete must leave instead.
A social media user called Bongz Lukhele wrote: “702 has lost great talents in recent years and this is yet another one. People don’t leave jobs, they leave toxic managers. There’s a toxic manager or director at Primedia Strusbob. S/he needs to be stopped before it’s too late.” Another Twitter user, Fefe, said Mbete must resign or be fired from her position, stating that she had failed to run the station, which is now junk.
Anastasiou declined to comment, while Joseph said she valued her time at the station and was satisfied that she and the station were able to reach an agreement on her exit.
Mbete said the station had reached an agreement with Joseph leaving the station. “On 16 July 2020, the Primedia Group announced its intention to proceed with consultations in accordance with section 189 of the Labour Relations Act. As you will be aware, this is a legal process that respects the confidentiality of all individuals affected. Currently, consultations across the business are ongoing and, as such, there is no final outcome to communicate,” Mbete said.
