The SABC management and board are on a collision course with MPs over their plan to retrench 600 workers and end contracts of 1 200 freelancers.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the corporation’s management will face a tough time trying to convince committee members on their turnaround strategy that includes the cutting of jobs to save R700-million.
Last month, the portfolio committee called on the public broadcaster to reskill and upskill its workforce instead of retrenching them, saying the process was premature – advice the SABC rejected.
The corporation’s leadership now must come face to face with MPs after its group head of human resources, Mojaki Mosia, told unions in a letter that the Sunday World published last week that the corporation did not need the mandate of the committee to proceed with the section 189 process to retrench workers.
Mosia also said that the committee was not an authority to determine whether the retrenchment process was fair or not, saying the organisation was going ahead with the retrenchments as they were in line with section 189 of the Labour Relations Act.
SABC acting spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo confirmed the organisation’s appearance before the committee.
“The SABC can confirm that the corporation will appear before parliament’s
portfolio committee on communications next week. This meeting is hosted by the committee, which sets the agenda, therefore we are unable to share the details of the committee’s meetings,” she said.
Cracks were already emerging in the board over the plan to retrench workers. This played itself out when board chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini tried to compose a delegation to the committee meeting. Sources in the board said the deputy chairperson, Mamodupi Mohlala-Mulaudzi, insisted that the management and board should make sure that they develop a common position on the retrenchments so that no one breaks ranks on the matter in parliament.
Makhathini had written to his colleagues informing them that the committee had invited them to appear on Tuesday and Wednesday nights at a virtual meeting. Committee chairperson Boyce Maneli said they have not changed their position that the SABC should not retrench workers. Maneli said there were many issues that the committee wanted to raise with the public broadcaster emanating from last month’s meeting.
