EFF rejects SAPO decision to retrench 6000 workers
13 February 2023
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) rejects the decision to retrench 6000 workers by the South African Post Office (SAPO) as callous and as insensitive to the prevailing unemployment crisis confronting South Africa.
The South African Post Office has long been confronted by financial challenges due to its failure to modemise and compete with private sector courier services, and emerging technologies within the communications space. The Post Office's inability to to live up to the technological advances in communications, Is at the centre of its failure to generate revenue.
Retrenchments therefore are not a solution to stabilising the finances of the entity and ultimately, it will collapse due to the misguided view that the retrenchment of workers is strategy to resolve financial woes. It is a strategy that seems to be plaguing the creatively stagnant Communications Sector in South Africa, as it has been used by the South African Broadcasting Co-Operation (SABC) in the recent past.
The EFF is opposed to a jobs bloodbath as a solution to rescuing State-Owned Entities. If there is any interest in resolving the financial challenges confronting SAPO, then there needs to be a comprehensive strategy to modernise and compete with emerging entities in the courier and postal services industry.