Fin24 reports that the SA Post Office (SAPO) has temporarily suspended retrenchments after its business rescue practitioners (BRPs) launched an urgent application for assistance from the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s (UIF’s) Temporary Employment Relief Scheme (TERS).
If successful, TERS would pay 75% of workers' salaries and assist in upskilling and training workers for up to one year. SAPO, meanwhile, would still be responsible for paying 25% of salaries. IOn Wednesday, SAPO said an agreement with unions for the application was finalised in March to limit the number of employees who would be impacted by retrenchments. It said the application was a "final attempt to gain access to relief funding". A spokesperson for the BRPs said workers who fell within the bargaining unit, including members of the Communication Workers' Union, Democratic Postal and Communications Union and the SA Postal Workers' Union, would not be retrenched. Instead, the workers will remain employees until an outcome on the application is decided upon in May. On the other hand, those in managerial or higher positions who receive retrenchment letters will not be eligible to benefit from TERS and have been encouraged to apply for alternative employment. BRP Anoosh Rooplal said if the application was unsuccessful, workers could expect to be retrenched. After initially planning 6,000 retrenchments, SAPO reduced retrenchments to 4,875 of its employees, and closing more than 200 loss-making branches by the end of the year. Branch closures are expected to continue.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Na'ilah Ebrahim at Fin24
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