SITA's restructuring a smokescreen for retrenchments - Solidarity: Solidarity members' jobs declared "redundant"

Letters that were issued to several members of Solidarity by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), clearly show that the organisation's controversial restructuring process is nothing more than the first phase of a large-scale retrenchment process, trade union Solidarity said today.

A number of Solidarity members were notified in writing that their positions are "redundant" in SITA's new structure and that they have to apply for new positions advertised in January. Solidarity's repeated demands to be involved in consultations regarding the restructuring have fallen on deaf ears and the trade union is in the process of obtaining a legal opinion which could result in legal action being taken against SITA. 

"SITA not only refused to release the criteria that were used to declare certain positions "redundant", but also changed its employees' conditions of service unilaterally. A unilateral amendment of conditions of service, without prior consultation with employees, is unfair in terms of common law and comes down to breach of contract," says Marius Croucamp, Solidarity spokesperson.

"A restructuring process is a common precursor to retrenchments and is often used by employers as a means to limit forced retrenchments. However, SITA is refusing to admit that retrenchments are on the cards. SITA's refusal to release the criteria regarding the new job placements shows that it is not following a transparent process. Solidarity is keen to get involved in the consultations in order to act as a watchdog, ensuring that discriminatory criteria are not used," he continues.

Meanwhile, SITA has denied that it is considering carrying out retrenchments and informed Solidarity by letter it is not consulting with the trade union, because it does not have collective representation in the organisation. "SITA's written notifications to employees, stating that their positions are redundant, have already caused concern that retrenchments could ensue if the employees in question cannot be placed in other positions," says Croucamp.

Croucamp stresses that section 189 of the Labour Relations Act is very clear. In terms of this section, a company who contemplates dismissing employees must consult any registered trade union whose members are likely to be affected by the proposed dismissals, regardless of the number of members it represents at that company. "Section 189 makes it clear that a collective agreement cannot be used to exclude members from other trade unions when employees' jobs and income are at stake," according to Croucamp.

"Doing so would amount to a complete disregard for employees' right to freedom of association," he adds. "Solidarity has the right and a duty to support its members, regardless of their number, during the process and will do everything in its power to exercise that right," says Croucamp. "If a transparent process is followed, the interests of all SITA employees and clients will be protected. If not, service delivery is sure to be affected negatively."

* SITA employees who are affected by the restructuring and who want to join Solidarity in order to get the trade union's support during the process, can send an e-mail to [email protected].

Statement issued by Moira-Marie Kloppers, Spokesperson: Solidarity, January 25 2012

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