SABC should conduct a proper independent staff and salary audit before considering retrenchments

30 October 2018

The Democratic Alliance is in possession of a memorandum sent to SABC staff indicating that the public broadcaster is considering retrenching up to 2200 staff effective on 1 February 2019.

Of serious concern is that this is to take place without the SABC having conducted a proper employee audit, which means staff who should not lose their jobs might end up doing so.

The DA is reliably informed that SABC management simply went from office to office asking managers if there were staff in their units that could be retrenched.

Before considering retrenching staff, the SABC ought to have conducted a proper independent skills audit to asses which staff it still needs, and those that are no longer needed, similar to the one conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the SABC in 2013.

Similarly, a salary audit would have revealed where inflated salaries that need to be reduced exist, which would have resulted in savings, particularly at mid- and top-level management level.

To date, the SABC refuses to reveal how much its new top management earns, creating the impression of fat cats earning massive salaries while planning to retrench 2200 subordinates. The retrenchment process also appears haphazard and illogical. As an example, the SABC has resolved to end the contracts it has with approximately 1200 freelance employees. Some of its freelance employees include drawcard and popular anchors such as Sakina Kamwendo, Redi Thlabi and Robert Marwara. Furthermore, while having placed a moratorium on the advertising of new positions the SABC continues to do so.

This does not inspire confidence of management well-informed of its staff component and conducting retrenchments with sound basis.

The DA will not allow the SABC to play Russian Roulette with the jobs of its staff.

Therefore, we will be writing to the SABC’s CEO requesting that an independent HR audit be conducted, and the results thereof tabled in Parliament and made public.

Parliament, the public, and indeed SABC staff need to see and understand the sound rationale behind these retrenchments.

As no final decision has been taken regarding retrenchments, we trust that a full audit will be conducted before a bigger mess is created at the SABC.

Issued by Phumzile Van Damme, DA Shadow Minister of Communications, 30 October 2018