/ 6 July 2009

SABC employees prepare to strike

Almost half of the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s workforce is expected to start protest action in a wage dispute on Monday.

The Media Workers’ Association of South Africa (Mwasa) earlier said it expected all of its 600 workers to take part, while the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) said about 1 000 of its members would participate.

The SABC has just over 3 000 staff members.

The unions went to the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration when the SABC revised a 12,2% multi-term pay offer it was supposed to have implemented in April, to 8,5%.

The Labour Court in Johannesburg dismissed a bid by the SABC last week to stop its workers from striking.

The protesters are expected to picket around lunch time, will not work overtime and will only do the duties in their job descriptions.

If there is no progress in negotiations with the employer, a complete stay away will start on July 13, unions warned.

The majority of South Africans get their news and entertainment coverage from SABC, which said in May it needed a R2-billion government bailout.

Its board was dissolved at the end of June by Communication Minister Siphiwe Nyanda after nine members resigned amid an investigation into financial mismanagement. Parliament has also passed a vote of no-confidence in the board. – Sapa