City Press reports that the cash-strapped SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has come under severe criticism after giving its employees above-inflation increases of between 5% and 6%.
This has raised questions about the prudence of the public broadcaster, which has been in financial turmoil for a number of years. A government official decried the move as shocking, given the SABC’s weak financial state, and added that the increases would not go down well with National Treasury. The broadcaster, which has not made a profit in six years, is expecting to record a loss for the current financial year. Moreover, the increases are being awarded a mere six months after the SABC received a massive R2.1 billion bailout from the state. The broadcaster’s management confirmed the increases, but said the money would not come from the bailout; rather, it was part of a three-year wage agreement that had previously been struck with workers. The SABC’s chief executive, Madoda Mxakwe, pointed out that the SABC had already entered into agreements with labour unions before the current economic downturn and went on to comment that “these salary increases are self-funded from operational cash generated.” The SABC’s financial situation worsened in June last year, when it could not afford to pay its staff or its service providers, including production houses. Several other media houseshave slashed workers’ salaries by anything from 20% to 40% or have informed workers that they would not be offering salary increases this year.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at City Press
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